A Very Ozzy Christmas
by JojiMC
Summary: Who would've guessed that the wild child has strict parents? It seems like they don't care about the holidays, they still want to ruin Izzy's chances of fun- and being with Owen. Can Izzy turn the tables this season?
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! I wanted to publish my whole story on Christmas, but it will probably not be done by then, so I will do what one of my friends has been doing and post a section every day. Or at least try to. This will be either a two-shot or a three-shot, but more likely the latter. I can't write one-shots. I just can't. Anyway, this takes place after the events of TDA, so Owen and Izzy are still in a relationship.

**WARNING:** This story is in Izzy's point of view, but she starts off in the third person. Because that's Izzy.

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><p>This is IzzyE-Scope/Explosivo/Brainzilla/Esquire, reporting the events of Christmas Day, 2007. Well, Izzy's really the only one who was involved in the events, but she's taking precautions just in case some people only know E-Scope, Explosivo, Brainzilla, or Esquire. That way, they can reference them back to her. And also, almost everyone knows Christmas is on December 25th, right? She just put "Christmas Day" in case some people consider Christmas Eve their Christmas. She knows her aunt Delilah does, Delilah's really weird though. Check a calendar, people!

I'll just drop the third person now because it's getting tedious. Talking in third person's way funner than writing in it! Or more fun. Bleh, grammar. This is why I'm probably never writing a book, unless Brainzilla does it for me. So anyway, events... where to start? I guess I should start around my timeout for building a snowman in the house, eheh. I mean, sure, that was on Christmas Eve, but since I'm trying to create a 'climax' or whatever, I'm going to 'build up' with 'rising action' to the events of Christmas Day. Don't blame me if those terms are wrong, I found them on Wikipedia.

So, it was Christmas Eve morning, and my younger brother Sebastian and I were in the living room on the same couch together. He was watching this movie called Frozen. By the way, he told me his favorite character is Olaf. You know, Olaf kind of looks like him! Wide dark eyes, bright-colored nose (he has allergies), big front teeth, and a tuft of hair on top of his head. Then again, I guess most guys have that. So yeah, besides that, I was jumping on the couch cushions to fluff them up.

"Izzy, I'm trying to watch a movie here!" Seb yelled.

Surely he could've ignored me while watching, right? I wasn't jumping THAT loudly. "Well excuse me, this is where I'm sleeping tonight."

"Can't you do that later?" He's cranky like our dad. Genetics.

"What if I forget? I have a lot of things to do, you know. Like do all my chores, finish wrapping gifts, beg Mom to let me date Owen..."

"It's never gonna happen." He said this matter-of-factly, kind of like my pal Noah. His voice is much higher though. But it felt like a lump of coal lodged itself in my heart then.

I stopped fluffing the pillows. "You don't know that."

"Mom cares too much about our image to accept someone like Owen."

"You're just a pessimist."

"No, I'm being logical here."

I threw my arms up. "You're too young to be logical!"

"And you're too old to be childish," he snapped.

"Childishness is a good thing."

"Not if you're _sixteen years old_." I stuck my tongue out at him. We heard a rhythmic knocking from the movie and turned our eyes to it. This little brunette girl started singing, she was pretty cute. In fact, she was a lot like me! Except she probably wasn't wanted by the RCMP, heh.

As the song went on, however, I started getting annoyed at the blonde. I mean, why couldn't she just make one measly snowman with her sister?

I was sitting down when this thought occurred to me. "Why can't the blonde just make a snowman with the brunette?"

"Because she'll hurt her," Seb said.

"From making a _snowman_?"

He glanced at me. "Yup."

I waited until the blonde was given gloves by her parents. "Okay, now she has gloves. She can make that snowman now, right?"

"Probably too risky." About a minute later, her ice powers went through the gloves. "Yup, too risky."

"Couldn't she have made a snowman with her sister before that happened?" I said.

"Apparently not. Can I just watch this in peace, please?"

I stood up. "It doesn't make any sense! Does she even care about her sister?" I pointed at the blonde on the screen. "Huh? Do you?" I tend not to listen to people. I should probably work on that more.

"Of course she does. You wouldn't know because you weren't watching the beginning," Seb said.

Ideas were coursing through my head. It was possible to build a snowman indoors. I mean, neither Seb nor I have ice powers, but all I had to do was turn the thermostat to freezing temperature and bring snow from outside. Our parents would never allow it, but Seb's childhood was at stake! All he did was watch movies, attend our parents' boring gatherings, and read their long boring novels. It was a sad life for a ten-year-old, or for any person really.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him from the couch. "C'mon Seb, we're making a snowman."

He sat back down. "I don't want to."

"Sure you do, you're a kid." I grabbed my favorite coat from the closet, a red peacoat with gold buttons. "Come on, let's go!"

He sank back in the sofa, arms crossed over his chest. "It's negative thirty degrees Celsius out there."

"Which is why we're building it indoors. But we have to gather the snow first." I started jabbing the 'down' button on the thermostat.

"Wait, what? What are you doing?" Seb ran toward me.

"Can you grab the biggest bowls you can find in the kitchen?" I said. "Or if you can find any buckets, that'd be even better."

He slapped my hand off the thermostat, catching my attention. "Izzy, what are you _doing_?"

"Making it cold enough in here so the snow doesn't melt. Isn't it obvious?"

"It's crazy! Mom and Dad are gonna kill you!"

I rolled my eyes. "You know the word 'crazy' has no effect on me. Besides, I'm doing this for you! When's the last time you played with snow, huh?"

I began walking to the kitchen, and he followed. "Last week, actually. I had a snowball fight with Tim before school."

"Who won?"

"He did, but that's not the point. The point is that you need to stop what you're doing, or I'll tell Mom and Dad."

"Don't."

"I will!"

It was time to pull out the big sister card. I turned around and grabbed Seb's shoulders. "Sebastian, I'm worried for you, okay? I feel like you haven't been getting out enough, thanks to Mom and Dad, and I want to do something about that."

"They bring us out to their gatherings," Seb said.

"Yeah, but those aren't fun! I just want us to have some quality time, y'know? I don't want to be like that blonde in the movie and seem like I don't care about my younger sibling."

By looking at Seb's face, I could tell that I had gotten through to him. "You try to hang out with me all the time, Izzy. I know you care about me."

"Then can I just prove it once more? Consider it my second Christmas present to you."

Seb looked upstairs, then back to me. He sighed. "Fine, but you're taking the blame if we get caught."

My heart lifted, and I'm sure that joy was written all over my face. "Don't I usually?" I grabbed his arm and ran into the kitchen. "Find some bowls and let's go!"

A while later, we snuck back through the door with four mixing bowls full of snow. We started to sweat right away, so we took off our coats. "You can put your coat in the closet, I'll be going out again for more snow," Seb said.

"Alright." I shook mine off outside and hung it in the closet, then noticed his nose. It was practically scarlet. "Why hello there, Rudolph!"

"What?" He looked in the mirror next to the door. "Oh wow, I _am_ Rudolph!" We shared a laugh. While he ran back to the kitchen for more bowls, I laid out a towel in the living room and began building the snowman's base on it.

By the time Seb finished gathering snow, I was ready to start the middle. I made a snowball, then we sat and worked together to layer it. By the way, his hands are almost as big as mine, I didn't realize that until then. When we finished, my gloves were positively covered in snow, and there were five full bowls left.

"Are we gonna make a really huge head now?" Seb asked.

"Hmm... and we can make him have horns," I said.

He stood up. "You know what? Let's not do either. I want it to be traditional. I'll go get pebbles." I watched him leave the house, then went to the kitchen to get a carrot for the snowman's nose. I thought it'd be a little pleasant surprise for him.

"WHY IS IT SO COLD IN HERE?" Dad yelled from upstairs. I froze at the refrigerator, my skin tingling all over. The carrot idea went soaring elsewhere. Dad's footsteps thudded on the stairs like thunderclaps.

I heard him land on the floor to the living room, and stop. "_WHAT IS THIS_? ISABELLE JOSIE WELLINGTON, COME OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Heat coursed through me, and I crossed my arms against my chest. "THAT'S NOT MY NAME!"

Dad clomped into the kitchen in only his robe and slippers. "Don't be ridiculous, Isabelle. Did you turn down the thermostat to build a _snowman_ in the _house_?"

I was still mad at him. Mom has told me before that when I'm mad, I get stubborn. "Yes."

"Why on Earth would you do that?" His tone was pleading me to be honest, but honesty never worked with Mom, and she and Dad worked together. It wasn't worth telling.

"Because I wanted to," I said. It was part of the truth, at least.

Dad face-palmed, then splayed his fingers across his face. "You know what? Let me go get your mom." I stiffened, heat sinking through my feet. Dad wasn't the dictator, house manager, or executioner around here. It was Mom.

I followed behind him into the living room. "Sit down and stay there," Dad said. I sank into the couch and let its olive green bulk envelop me until I could barely see the room. I hated how my parents always made me feel guilty by making me pay the price. Sitting in silence, I closed my eyes and imagined I was back in Camp Wawanakwa, where the food sucked but at least there weren't adults watching your every move. And who cared about the cameras when you were experiencing actual freedom for the first time in your life?

Seb opened the door, and my thoughts broke apart. Black pebbles shined in his hand. He met my eyes and jumped. "Izzy! I can hardly see you!"

"Stay outside, Seb," I muttered.

"Okay, first of all, I am not staying outside in negative thirty degree weather. Second of all, why?"

"Dad caught me."

His hand dropped, and pebbles showered onto the ground. "Oh."

"Unless you want to get blamed too, go anywhere else but here."

He threw his boots in the closet, stuffed his coat inside, then walked toward the kitchen. At the end of the living room, he stopped and turned around. "But it doesn't feel right, leaving you like this. It isn't fair that only you should get punished when I was building it too." He was pointing a hand at our still-headless snowman.

I stared at him, not knowing what to say. He hadn't wanted to take any blame before, and truthfully, I melted a little at his change of heart. I gave him the sweetest smile I could. "You have a perfect track record so far, don't you? Don't let me ruin it for you."

Seb put his hands behind his back and glanced behind him. When he looked at me again, his expression made him seem as though he were the older sibling. "If you don't get a timeout, meet me in the dining room."

"Okay." Just then, two pairs of feet sounded on the steps, and I made a shooing motion at him. He backed away until I couldn't see him anymore, and I reclined on the couch and tried to get as comfortable as possible.

I saw Dad and then Mom, wearing a coat over her robe, but her hair looked brushed. You know, people say I look just like her. I say 'ha' to that! I could care less about how I look, but my mom? She literally spends two hours in the bathroom getting her hair and makeup (which I call 'face paint') done. Oh yeah, and her hair is straight from her straightening it all the time. Not to mention her expressions- I'm pretty sure I don't make as many pinched faces as she does at me.

She was wearing one of hers right then, clicking down the stairs in her slippers with Dad. When she spotted the snowman, she let out a hissing gasp and covered her mouth. It felt like there was a spotlight shining on me, highlighting my mistakes to them every time I did something 'wrong'.

Mom's eyes locked on me and turned darker, like ominous storm clouds. "Isabelle, what is this?"

"A snowman," I said.

"Do not get smart with me. Why didn't you just ask to build a snowman outside? Now you've given us a cold house for the rest of the morning and a big mess to clean up."

"It's just snow, it's not like-"

"Quiet. This would be much easier if only you took responsibility for your own actions."

I stood up, but Mom still towered over me. "Why don't you just punish me already? You know you love to."

"Don't make me out as a sadist," she snapped. "I don't enjoy punishing you. But until you grow out of this phase of yours, I will have to keep doing it. Now, go to your room while your dad and I discuss what to do with you."

"Want me to hand you my phone now?" I said.

Mom's eyebrows twitched up. "Maybe later." That, of course, meant she would take it. I climbed up the stairs and skirted past her and Dad in one awkward movement, then went along the railing to my room.

Trying not to think too much about what just happened, I grabbed my cellphone and sat on my bed. I texted Owen, **I'm coming 2 ur house.**

As I waited, I rested my chin in one hand, staring at the screen. I straightened when my cellphone let out a tiger roar. It was always fun to see people freak out every time it rang. **Awesome!**** Thank God I'm free right now. You'll get to meet my uncle, he just came in a surprise visit for Christmas!**

**Nice! Uncles r the best.**

**Yeah, totally! Are you coming to visit for Christmas too?**

**Nah, I'm on a timeout & I'm bored.**

**Huh, I was going to ask why you were coming early. It's still cool you are though. Man, it sucks that your parents are punishing you right before Christmas. What are you in trouble for?**

**I built a snowman indoors.**

**How? Wouldn't it just melt?**

**I turned down the thermostat.**

**Oh. Haha, that's my Izzy. :-)**

I giggled. Big O always knew how to make me feel better. **Thanks, Big O. I'll b there soon!**

**Sweet! I'll be waiting for you. ;-)**

**;F **I sent my winking vampire and opened my closet. I fished out my puffy gear that I wore for walking to Owen's house in the winter. After yanking on snow boots, I grabbed my rope ladder and threw one end out the window. Oh yeah, I can't even begin to tell you all the cool tricks I've done on the roof with my trusty ladder! One time I- sorry, off topic. Maybe I'll tell you after the story. Anyway, I climbed out the window with my coat making funny squishing sounds, and closed it on the end of the ladder (which had Dad's weights tied on). Am I a genius or what? I do have an IQ of 188, you know. Mom and Dad would've found out eventually, but I didn't care. They already spoiled my fun time with Seb, what else did I have to lose?

I trekked across the blanket of snow on the roof and made my way down the side, using the ladder rungs as footholds. The climb down the wall was easy, and I ran down my street and turned the corner. Truthfully, Owen's house is an hour walk, but I ran a lot of the way, so it really was around 40 minutes. Besides, running is fun! It's like a pastime of mine, next to sneaking up on people and scaring them. I still have trouble believing sometimes that Owen is so close to my house. I might have seen him at the supermarket before Total Drama, who knows? Surely it's a sign we're meant to be together, right? Mom rolled her eyes whenever I told her that.

By the time I made it to Owen's house, I was sweating like crazy. You know that hot-cold feeling you get when you're exercising in cold weather? I love it. Anyway, I knocked on the door, then realized there was a doorbell and rung it. Now why did I keep forgetting that?

"It's Izzy!" I heard Owen yell. Heavy footsteps came to the door. Soon I was looking up at Owen's sweet face, holding the constant expression of a kid at a candy store and cheeks that grandmas loved to squeeze.

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><p>I hope you enjoyed this segment! Did I portray Izzy well? Did I preserve her craziness? Let me know in a review please. :-)<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas! I forgot to mention this before, but this story takes place after TDA. It is now added on to my note in the first chapter.

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><p>I held out my arms. "Merry Chri-"<p>

He swept me off my feet into his arms, knocking the breath out of me. "Merry Christmas Izzy! Oh, how I'm so glad to see you!"

"Glad to see you too, Big O!" I said into his arm.

Owen loosened his grip and looked at me, tenderness in his eyes. "You should really come visit more often, y'know? My family enjoys having you, as do I."

A thought trickled into my mind without my consent: If I came too often, Mom and Dad would question my absence. "Really?" I snapped my fingers. "Darn. I wanted your brothers to be freaked out by me."

Owen chuckled. "Don't worry, they kind of still are."

"Owen! Why are you hugging Izzy outside when we have a warm house?" Mr. Nickelson came up behind Owen as he let go of me, and I waved at him. He and Owen share the same hug-able girth and heart-warming smile. "Welcome to our humble home, Izzy. Now come inside, both of you."

We stepped inside, Mr. Nickelson closing the door behind us. Owen's house always smells like delicious food- this time it was bacon. The living room glittered with flashing lights strung all over the place. A tree stood in the middle, dominated by gold and loaded underneath with presents. We have a tree too, but it's a fake one for 'less mess', as Mom says. It's also tiny so it takes up 'less space'. It's just lame, period.

Mrs. Nickelson scurried out with a plate of chocolate chip cookies. I recognized her by her bright blonde hair and round petiteness. She's adorable, really. "Oh, hello Izzy! Merry Christmas Eve! Here, you and Owen can help yourselves to these." She gave me the plate of cookies, and the divine smell wafted into my nostrils. "We also have BLT subs in the kitchen, if you want any."

I swear I was put under a spell by those cookies. My eyelids were getting droopy. "Mmm... Thanks, Mrs. Nickelson."

"Anytime, sweetheart." She nudged Owen, whose eyes were half-closed as drool went down his chin. I put a hand over my smile- he looked like a baby. "Owen, why don't you escort Izzy to your room?"

Owen blinked at the cookies. "Huh- wha?"

"Take Izzy to your room," she said in a sterner tone. "No funny business."

He saluted her. "Yes ma'am!"

Before he could place a foot on the step, I cut in front of him. "I know where your room is. Come on!" I grabbed his hand and barreled up the stairs, occasionally glancing back to make sure he was keeping up. The railing was strung with rainbow lights, something I wished existed in my own house. Mom and Dad don't put up decorations (besides the lame Christmas tree) because they don't see the point if we're always celebrating Christmas at other places. But I hadn't heard that we were going anywhere this year, so I thought they were just being lazy.

I hopped the last two steps. The second floor was basically a narrow hall with four doors, one right in front of me. I shouldered it, and Owen tried to pull away. "Iz, that's not-"

One of Owen's brothers (the skinny one) stood in only pink plaid boxers. His eyes bugged out at me, and he leaped back five feet. Actually, I have no way of knowing how far he jumped, that's just an educated guess. "AH! What the hell is she doing here?"

"She's my girlfriend, remember? And you could be more poli-" Owen's brother slammed the door in Owen's face with a splintering **CRACK! **

Owen stared at the door, the skin wrinkling around his eyes as he squinted. I laid my hands on his shoulders and massaged them. It was a sure-fire way to fend off his spouts of anger. And how did I know one was coming? Girlfriend intuition, boo yeah. "It's okay, Owen. He just can't take a joke, that's all. I've dealt with many of those people."

The tension leaked out of his shoulders, and he huffed. "Luke can just be so rude sometimes. I'm sure if you opened Riley's door, he would actually greet you properly."

"That's because he's more like you, big and lovable!" I opened the next door to the only brunette in the family lying down, mouth wide open in a snore. "Yup, definitely like you." We snickered. This is one of the reasons I like Owen- he actually appreciates my teasing. So does Noah, which is why I like him as a friend, but he's sensitive if he's the one being teased.

Anyway, we finally stepped inside Owen's room. It was fairly bland, with white walls and a uniform blue bed. I never would've guessed that it belonged to a bright personality like Owen! I mean, of course I knew it was his from my once-in-a-while visits, I was just barging into his brothers' rooms for fun. The open floor was clean, but I saw a few wrappers under his bed and desk, spots he must have missed.

I crashed onto the bed, landed sprawled-out, then scooted over for Owen. He fell back as well, and our legs touched as they hung off the bed. I put the cookies between us. "So, what do you wanna do?" he asked.

I voiced what we were both thinking. "If we made out now, it'd be tacky."

"True... Are you doing anything fun tomorrow?"

"Probably not. You?"

"Nope."

I sat up and looked at him. "Really?"

Owen grabbed a cookie and stuffed it in his mouth. I did the same. "Yup, we like to hang at home for Christmas. Eat and watch TV basically. My uncle's sure to tell some of his hunting tales..."

"Ohoho, I wish I could hear those."

Owen lifted his head. "Maybe you can come again tomorrow! Perhaps you could bring along your family too, for a Christmas feast. It'd be fun! I mean, I know it's a long shot, your parents probably want you home for Christmas, but if they were willing..."

'Fun' is my true middle name, not Josie. It's the one I actually respond to. "I'd love to! But they'd never come along with me, and they'd definitely notice if two of their kids were missing. They baby Seb more than me anyways."

One of Owen's eyebrows dipped like a spoon. "Why wouldn't they come?"

_Crap_, I thought. I didn't want to tell Owen what my parents thought of him. I didn't want to see any hurt on his face whatsoever, caused by me. And there was a small selfish worry, existing in the form of a pit in my stomach, that Owen wouldn't want me as his girlfriend without my parents' approval. "Because our car isn't working."

He stretched his lips in a downward slant. "Oh, that's a shame. We have two cars, maybe we could pick you guys up?" His expression unraveled, and he shot up. "Wait a second, did you walk all the way here?"

"Yup. Or more like ran." That much was true.

"That must've taken a long while! And in negative thirty degree weather? That's insane, Izzy! Oh wait, that word doesn't have any effect on you. That's... something you shouldn't do!"

I looked sideways on the floor. "I'm not in the mood for another lecture."

"I'm not lecturing you, but do you need a blanket?" I shook my head hard while shutting my eyes, trying to suppress the frustration bubbling up inside of me. "Hot cocoa? A heat pack?" I shook my head once more, and I felt Owen's gaze on me. "What's wrong?"

There were two armies warring in my mind: The Truth, and My Hopes and Dreams With Owen. "I... I just wish you could come over. But my parents don't like having me and my brother's friends at our house." Actually, they were fine with that, as long as our friends fit their cookie-cutter model. Oh gosh, I remember what Noah did to appease Mom and Dad into letting him in our house, it was hilarious! I nearly blew his cover. I HAVE to tell you that story later if I don't forget, which I tend to sometimes.

"Oh, I see. I wondered why you never invited me back. Well, it's good to know that it's a different reason than I thought it was," Owen said.

"Owen, I'm dedicated to you like you are to donuts!" I placed a hand flat against my chest. "I swear I would never lose interest in you, unless you suddenly became the most boring person on the planet."

He laughed for a short while, and I drew a blank on why. "Oh no, I was just worried that you were worried I might fart and embarrass you at your house!" Laughter seeped back into his voice, and we both started cackling and fell back on the bed. Can you _imagine_ the possibilities of Owen farting in front of my parents? That just cracked me up!

After a minute, our laughter dissolved into giggles. Owen looked at me sideways with a twitching smile. "On a serious note, I'd never lose interest in you either because I_ know_ you'll never become boring."

"Aww, thanks, Big O." I rolled over and kissed him on the cheek. "So, is there anything_ you_ wanna tell me?"

Owen stuffed his second cookie in his mouth, and I copied him. "Well, I do have a few minor confessions. I had my Christmas present for you when you brought me that box of delicious donuts, but I kept it because I wanted you to find it in your mailbox on Christmas. Dang, I should've kept it so I could give it to you tomorrow!"

"Don't worry about it! I love getting gifts in the mail." Of course, my favorite form of gift transportation is by dog. My uncle had his Siberian Husky hand me a present in his mouth when they visited last year, it was super adorable!

Owen pumped his fists in the air. "Whoo hoo! Boyfriend intuition, boo yeah!" See how alike we are? "Oh yeah, I have something else too. I invited Noah's whole family to Christmas dinner. I thought having all of our families here would be whole new levels of awesome, especially as a surprise."

"But I thought Noah didn't like surprises."

"He doesn't, but I figured he'd like this one since you two are friends." We sighed, imagining a picture that would never happen. Then we ate another cookie. Then I locked the door, and we began making out. Do you really think I'm going to describe the details when kids might read this someday? Haha! Silly geese. But Owen only ate four cookies throughout our time together, which was a huge accomplishment for me. It proved that I really grabbed his attention! Boo yeah.

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><p><strong>Sebastian's POV (We give you a break from Izzy's insanity through Seb's sanity.)<strong>

I don't know what I was thinking, building that snowman with Izzy. It was inevitable we would get caught. I mean, who sleeps through a sudden huge drop in temperature unless they're drunk?

Not that it wasn't fun. It would've been nice to finish the movie, but I thought it was really cool how we were doing something that actually happened in Frozen, and didn't even need ice powers for it. If there's one thing that makes my sister unique (though there's many), it's her ability to defy reality, something I can never do. That is, without her assistance. She also tries really hard to make me try new things, not that I did any of them- that is, until now. I thought she was just being insane, but when she expressed that she cared about me, I felt like I owed her all of a sudden. It was like all of her attempts to drag me into crazy experiments turned into metaphors for love in my mind. Is that weird or what?

Don't get me wrong, I love her as my sibling too. It just became clearer once I realized there was a reason behind all my annoyance.

Sitting in the dining room, I heard Mom's clipped tone and knew Izzy was definitely getting a timeout. Sure enough, I soon heard Izzy going upstairs. I can identify without looking whoever climbs the stairs somehow- Izzy's the lightest one on her feet. I waited a minute after Mom and Dad went up, then took the steps as quietly as possible. Unfortunately, I'm not a very good stealth walker, so I made a light thump with each step, loud enough for Mom to hear me.

"Sebastian dear?" Mom tends to pull out different voices with different people, and the one she used right then made me feel like a little kid. She met me at the top and pulled me into a hug. "Hopefully this warms you up. Sorry it's so cold in here, Izzy turned down the thermostat to freezing."

A conflict was going on in my mind. I adore Mom and Dad, but I didn't adore their punishment of Izzy when she was just trying to do something nice for me. But if I told them that, they might have asked me if I got involved, and I had never lied to them before. And I'm hardly ever one to break old patterns. "It does, Mom, thank you. The cold's not your fault."

Mom squeezed me tighter. "Oh, you're so sweet. How come only you have such manners?"

"I paid special attention to you and Dad." Okay, so I'm a parents' pet. It's just easier when you have parents like mine.

She nuzzled my face, which felt good (don't judge me). "You're just a_ blessing_ to me and your father. Make sure to put on a coat!" She walked down the hallway to her and Dad's room and closed the door, freeing me to check on Izzy.

Now, I don't usually check on Izzy when she's on a timeout, Mom and Dad would disapprove. But I had to return the favor for her taking all the blame. I walked to her door and opened it a crack. "Izzy? It's me, Seb."

No response. I looked toward my parents' bedroom and sighed, then went inside and shut the door. I swear, the only reason her room is spotless is because Mom does a room check daily to make sure we aren't holding anything dangerous (Iz is usually caught for this one), inappropriate, or just plain gross (Iz again). Still, it's a virtual kaleidoscope. I scanned the room once, twice, three times, and still I couldn't find her. My mind inflated with thoughts, questions, and the general fuzziness of confusion. _What if she pops out and scares me at any second? Gosh, it's impossible to find her in this mess of color. Wait, what's that hanging out the window?_

I walked over and discovered part of a rope ladder wedged in the window with Dad's weights tied on it. Immediately, I knew what she did and palmed my forehead. For the first time ever, she had broken out of a timeout (I know, surprising). She was in for a world of trouble.

The door opened, and I tensed up, looking for a place to hide. But I knew it was too late, and turned around to face Mom and Dad.

"Sebastian, what are you doing here?" Mom asked. "Where's Isabelle?"

I backed up to the window, though it was futile, they would've come to the same conclusion anyway. But they didn't have to know Izzy got out through the window, at least. I stayed silent, since I was not about to tell the truth OR a lie.

Dad looked around, then at me with a piercing stare. "She's not in here?"

I felt my resolve fly away like sand does with the wind. I closed my eyes and nodded.

Mom threw her hands up, clapping them back to her sides. "Great. Now we have no clue where our daughter is or when she'll come home._ If_ she'll come home."

Dad put his hands on her shoulders. "She'll come home, honey. She always does. What I'm wondering about is how we should deal with her when she comes back."

Mom's stare at him was unsettling, like there was a storm behind her eyes. "Oh, I have a way in mind." They walked out of the room, and I waited a few moments before grabbing a swivel chair in the corner and pulling it in front of the window. It would conceal the ladder until Izzy came back, and she could easily push it out the way. My job here was done.

I went back downstairs to check on the snowman. Mom and Dad hadn't gotten rid of it yet, but the readjusted heat was already diminishing it to a pile of slush.

I pushed the snowman and all my emotions with it to the back of my mind. Time to resume my movie.

**(And now, back to Izzy's POV.)**

* * *

><p>It pained me to tell Owen I had to go after only an hour, but Mom was probably already waiting for me with a club. So I put my puffy gear back on and headed downstairs, with Owen following behind me.<p>

A tubby man with a curly brown beard approached me at the bottom, pale blue eyes glistening with his smile. "Uncle Wendell! Where were you?" Owen said.

"I was just in the bathroom. Ate a few too many of your mom's subs." He turned around to Ms. Nickelson. "You make a mean BLT, sis!"

Ms. Nickelson brought her lips into a frowning pucker. "You should have left some for Owen and Izzy. That way, you would have been able to greet our guest when she arrived."

He winked at me and shook my hand in both of his. "Well, I'm doing it now, aren't I? Nice to meet Owen's girlfriend at long last. He always talks about you on our trips to the great outdoors. And I must say-" He clicked his tongue- "you're just as fine-looking a lady as he said you were."

I smirked back at Owen, whose face had turned red. "Uncle, please!"

"I have lots more that he said about you, but I'll preserve his privacy for now. Say, Owen, what do you say to going hunting with me and your grandpa on New Year's?"

Owen gave him two thumbs-up. "Sounds cool!"

Ms. Nickelson marched up to Uncle Wendell. "Hold on, we didn't discuss this yet. What if I want my kid _home_ this New Year's, huh?"

He gave a serene smile. "Can't break the tradition of us men, sis."

I cleared my throat. "I gotta go now."

Ms. Nickelson blinked at me. "Already? Well, I suppose your parents want you home early on Christmas Eve. Let me go get Owen's dad to drive you."

"Oh, that won't be necessary," I said. "I live close by."

Her eyes enlarged and caught the light. "But it's too cold out there to walk! I don't want you catching a cold, or worse, pneumonia." She ran off to the kitchen, and Uncle Wendell, Owen, and I sat on a couch in the living room.

Soon she came back with Mr. Nickelson in tow. "Why can't you drive? I don't drive well on snowy roads," he said.

"You handle them just fine. I need to convince my brother to let Owen stay home for New Year's for once."

"Why does he need to stay home?"

Mrs. Nickelson pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just- drive Izzy home, okay?"

"Ah, fine. Izzy, come along." And so, I ended up in Owen's van with Owen and his father as company, wondering what the heck was going to happen if my parents saw me coming out of the van near our driveway. Best case scenario: They'd ground me for a month. Worst case scenario: They'd chase the van, find Owen in there, and ban me from contacting him ever again. Then I realized an easy solution: Get Mr. Nickelson to drop me off at the end of our street.

"Izzy, you okay? You're unusually quiet," Owen said.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I winked at him. "Just tired after our time together." He winked back and chuckled. "Mr. Nickelson, would you mind dropping me off when we reach my street?"

"You don't want to be dropped off at your house?" Mr. Nickelson said.

"Nope, I like running."

"Izzy's a hardcore gal," Owen said slowly, and I sensed pride in his tone.

Mr. Nickelson chuckled and looked at the GPS in front. "Maybe she could toughen you up, eh Owen? We're just about at your street. Kreewood, you said?"

"Yup! I can get off here." We reached the corner, and Mr. Nickelson stopped the car.

I reached across and hugged Owen before jumping out. "See you tomorrow!" he said.

"See ya Big O!" I waved at the car as it turned around, then sprinted back to my house. I took the ladder and climbed up to my window, and there I saw half the back of my swivel chair. _Hm, that wasn't there before_, I thought._ Did Mom and Dad put it there?_

I opened the window and climbed over my chair, imagining myself as a cat. It really helps me to be agile! I pulled up my ladder and silently shut the window. Tossing my ladder deep into my closet, I curled up in bed so I could at least be well-rested when Mom and Dad came to issue my extra punishment.

It was all a matter of waiting.


	3. Chapter 3

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Sorry for the delay of this chapter! I've been busy the past few days, especially with my birthday yesterday. Christmas may be a thing of the past by now, but I hope you still have some holiday spirit left to enjoy this story. :-)

Also, this story has become more than a three-shot. It's likely to be a five-shot at this rate.

* * *

><p>"Is she awake?" Or at least, that's what I think Dad said. When he and Mom opened my door, I woke up a bit, but I was still pretty darn groggy.<p>

They were standing over my bed, and I was pretending to still be asleep. I'm a real good pretend-sleeper, oh yeah. I can snore like a grown man! "She's snoring, Bob," Mom said in a flat tone.

"She could be faking." Dad patted my shoulder. "Isabelle? Wake up." See how strict my parents are? They don't even let me have my fake z's.

I felt a strand of my hair be lifted, then wrapped around a finger. "She looks like such an angel when she sleeps. If she would just let me do her hair and makeup tomorrow..."_ What's tomorrow?_ I thought, almost pausing in my snoring to ask.

Dad clapped his hands in front of my face. "Isabelle. ISABELLE?"

"Hold on." I heard Mom walk out, and ideas filled my mind of what she could be planning. Trumpet? Drums? Piano? Soon I heard her come back.

Liquid ice blasted onto my face, and I shot straight up. "AGH! What the helk was that?" I was originally going to say 'hell', but caught myself. Helk (n.)= a half-curse word, a mix of 'hell' and 'heck'. At least I got a new word out of that experience, eh? It rhymes with 'elk', my third favorite animal next to the platypus and the box jellyfish!

"Good! She's awake now," Dad said.

I looked at him and Mom. They had changed while I was gone- Dad now wore a blue v-neck sweater and black pants, and Mom wore a red dress with black leggings. Cold water was dripping down my neck, and I shivered. "Ya think?"

"Last time we came in, you were not here," Mom said in a prickly voice. "Care to explain?"

"I cannot be contained," I said in the prissiest tone possible, to get back at her. "I shan't."

Dad snorted, then coughed in his fist. Mom slapped her hands on her hips. "Oh yes you will. You can't just escape responsibility, Isabelle. And you will be making up for your irresponsibility tomorrow, in the basement."

I hadn't been there in ages. Mom kept the key in a super secret place. All I knew was that it was cold, barren, and boring. "For how long?"

"All day. Until the evening, when you will be attending a party with the whole family."

Numbness swept over me. "_What_?"

"Don't 'what' me, it's what you deserve for all your recklessness today."

Being in the basement all day meant I couldn't visit Owen. I wouldn't get to have a wild time with him and Noah and their families, eat Christmas dinner with them, or see Owen and Noah at ALL. I considered going ballistic, but then something overwhelmed me: The deep painful hole in my gut. Tears sprung to my eyes. "How can you do this to me? On Christmas! What kind of monster are you?"

Mom slammed both fists on my bed, eyes flashing like green lightning. "How dare you call me a monster! You know what? Go to the basement, _now_! Don't take anything with you!"

Vision blurring in front of me, I saw a shift in Mom's face as I pulled out my phone from my bra and placed it beside me. Then I stood up and walked out.

* * *

><p><strong>Sebastian's POV (For a view outside Izzy's crazy world.)<strong>

My eyes were hooked to the screen as Hans was about to kiss Anna. Calculations were going on in my head: Anna would be cured, and together they would straighten out the whole mess between Elsa and everyone else. I still hadn't figured out how they would stop the eternal winter though.

Hans stopped an inch away from Anna and opened his eyes. "Oh, Anna," he said in a strange low voice. "If only there was someone out there who loved you."

MIND BLOW. As I watched his next words play out, establishing in me a deep-seated hatred for him, I heard feet on the stairs. Izzy came down first, followed by Mom and Dad. The movie faded from my mind as I saw Izzy wiping her eyes, which were shiny and red. Izzy never cried. She got disappointed or upset, but never enough to cry.

I looked at Mom and Dad. Mom was stoic as usual, but I received hints from her lowered eyes and subtly frowning lips. Dad's gaze was more alert, his eyebrows curled in toward each other. I stared at Izzy again, but only Dad gave me a glance as they crossed the living room. I thought they were going to the kitchen, but then they stopped at the door to the basement. Mom pulled out a key and unlocked it, and Izzy stepped inside. Then she locked her in.

An alarm went off in my head. I sprang to my feet and ran over to the scene. "What are you doing? It's cold in there!"

Dad turned his head to Mom. "Let's not do this today, honey. We can send her in with warm clothes tomorrow."

Her expression formed all kinds of edges. "She called me a monster," she snapped. Some of the tension transitioned off her face. "But you're right, she needs her coat and actual leggings with that short skirt of hers. And socks. I'll go get them." She went back upstairs, leaving just Dad and me.

Dad's gaze switched over to me. "Sebastian, I have to ask- what were you doing in your sister's room?"

"Hm? Oh, I was just checking on her."

His eyes were like dark marbles with an intellectual glint- searching, observant. Mom says I have eyes like him, but I don't think mine have the same effect as his. "You don't usually do that."

"Nope." It was the most I could manage without squeaking. I could feel it in my throat.

His stare was drawing the truth out of me, but I resisted. I focused on looking him in the eyes, a clear sign of sincerity, while blocking out their power. "You know, if everyone in this family was honest with each other, we would all get along swimmingly. It's not just Isabelle that's the problem."

He followed Mom's trail upstairs, and I could breathe easy again. Now was my chance. I knocked on the basement door. "Izzy, you okay? What happened?"

No reply. She probably went down the stairs. I walked back to the living room to resume watching Frozen. I would check on her again right after Mom gave Izzy her clothes, so she'd be near the entrance.

**(Back to Izzy now.)**

* * *

><p><em>Stupid tears<em>, I thought. I was rubbing my eyes to keep them at bay as I leaped the last few steps, the rocky floor jarring my feet. It was probably frozen solid, I was freezing in there! Someone had already turned on all the lights (spaced-out light bulbs with strings), but there needed to be twice as many to clear the dimness.

_I have to get out. _Basements should really have windows. I do have some basic lock-picking skills, but I've never bothered to master the art. I may be a criminal according to the RCMP, but I'm _usually_ not a thief. There was some furniture strewn about- our old white sofa with tomato soup stains across the cushions (I did that), a beat-up light blue dresser, a night stand, a coffee table, mattresses- but really, it was like a desert at nighttime. Cold, dark, dry, deserted... and huge.

I flipped over to the night stand first. What? I was trying to warm myself up, and there was more than enough room for gymnastics. After steadying myself, I opened its drawer. Besides all the dust, there was a broken watch, a flashlight, rubber bands, and a bobby pin. I took the rubber bands and the bobby pin, blew off the dust, and rubbed them on my shirt. The bobby pin I could use for lock-picking, and do I have to explain the former? Rubber bands are awesome!

I eyed the dresser in the corner next. I already had my lock-picking item, but I have this policy of always opening drawers, boxes, and cabinets. Who knows, there could be treasure! I'd tell you of the time I found a wad of bills in my teacher's desk at school, but that's another story. Three cartwheels later, I pulled open the top drawer. Nothing. I opened three more drawers, all barren. When I reached the bottom one, however, I discovered a glasses case and a picture of... Dad?

I sat my butt on the floor and examined the picture. He was standing against a white wall with a group of guys, arms wrapped around each others' shoulders. They all wore thick glasses, tucked-in shirts, and awkward grins. Dad was by far the skinniest, and had a lot less lines on his face. All along, I had always pictured him as a polished professor, one who always looked right and hung with the right people, but he actually used to be a lanky nerd with nerdy friends. It was an incredible sight.

Next, I reached for the glasses case. I blew off a thin layer of dust and opened it. The glasses matched Dad's in the picture exactly, only framed on the top edge and with long round lens. I put them on, and I immediately was as blind as a bat. I knew he wore contacts, but I didn't know his eyesight was _this_ bad. I couldn't even walk around in his glasses!

I put them back, but kept the picture. I would ask Dad about it later.

I walked on my hands halfway to the stairs, then decided it was too slow and went upright. I leaped the steps by threes and nearly fell into the door, but righted myself. After breaking off the tips of the bobby pin, I stuck it into the keyhole and twisted, but the lock didn't budge. I pushed, strained, and cursed myself for not practicing more. Nothing worked. What felt like ten minutes later, I slumped against the door, out of breath and shivering.

The lock clicked, and my bobby pin fell out as the door opened behind me. I fell backward with a yelp, and looked up to see Mom standing over me. I scrambled to my feet, heat gathering in my cheeks. "What?"

"I brought extra clothes for you to wear." She handed me my red peacoat (still with crumbs of snow on it), leggings, and socks, then rubbed her hands over her arms. "Goodness, it_ is_ cold in there." We stood and stared at each other, and I swear the frost melted out of her eyes for a few seconds. But it came back just as quickly, and she shut the door in my face.

Pressure built up inside of me like soda shaken in a bottle. Dropping my clothes, I bent down and picked up the bobby pin pieces, thinking, _I hate Mom I hate Mom I hate Mom I hate this prison._ I couldn't take it. It was the frustration that brought my fist into the door, not myself.

Fireworks exploded in my hand. I rubbed the tender skin and sat on the floor, closing my eyes. I actually felt better now that I had something else to focus on. At least my physical pain only lasted for a minute, right?

Someone knocked on the door. I opened my eyes. "Iz? Are you okay?"

It was Seb. "Yup, I have warm clothes now," I said.

"I saw you crying earlier. Did Mom yell at you?"

"Yup." _But that's not why I cried._

"You should have let me take some of the blame for the snowman. Then maybe Mom and Dad wouldn't have put you in the basement..."

I gave a short laugh. "We both know they would have done it anyway. That's the first time I ever broke out of a timeout. Besides, Mom hates me, and I hate her."

A pause. "Mom? No, she can't hate you. 'Hate' is too strong a word for what's between you two."

"Then why did she stick me in the basement for all of today_ and_ tomorrow, huh? Without any pillows, blankets, pajamas, or dental care. Oh yeah, no food either."

"She'll probably bring all of those later."

"I doubt it."

"Could you just think positively?" His voice took on a new tone- sharper, more impatient. _So now I'm angering Seb too, _I thought. _Great._ "I don't like seeing you and Mom fight like this near Christmas. I feel like I have to pick sides. Sure, your punishment's unfair, but you provoked it out of Mom by sneaking out. How am I supposed to decide?"

I sighed. Even if he didn't think my reason for leaving my timeout was reasonable, I would've rather had him know the_ truth_ and decide. "Well, I'll give you my view on the situation first. You know how Mom won't let me see Owen, right?" I imagined him nodding behind the door. "It was only a matter of time before I snuck out to see him. I mean, he's my boyfriend, I was missing him tons. I even returned after only one hour at his house for Mom and Dad! If they just let me hang out with Owen, none of this would be happening right now." I paused, a new and dreadful thought arising. "Seb, please don't tell them I went to see Owen. They might never let me text or call him again." I would flat-out ignore any ban from seeing him, just saying.

I held my breath at the silence on the other side. Thankfully, it was brief. "I won't, but they might find out anyway. Didn't you get your phone taken away?"

_Dang it_. But at the same time, an idea struck. "Maybe they won't look. But can you do me a favor? Could you text Owen on my phone that I can't come to his house tomorrow?"

"Wait, you were going to see him _again_? Gosh, Izzy, you need to learn some restraint!"

"Uh, no. I have been restraining from visiting Owen for six months, not counting Total Drama Action. If you don't text him, he'll think I stood him up, when really, I'm stuck in a basement without windows!"

"I am certain that no basement in the world has windows. And I thought you cared about my perfect record."

Both heat and cold were crawling under my skin, making me restless and frustrated. "This is Owen we're talking about though! I can't just hurt him like this!"

"Can't you just explain to him after you get your phone back?" That's when I realized, I was fighting impossible odds. Not only did Seb not believe in my relationship with Owen, but he was also attached to Mom and Dad. I didn't stand a chance.

I stood up. "Fine. I will." I took only my coat and descended the steps once more, listening to the silence behind me.

* * *

><p><strong>Owen's POV (You were not expecting this, were you?)<strong>

**CHRISTMAS DAY**

In my book of favorite holidays, the only holiday that trumps Christmas is Thanksgiving, and that's only because there's a turkey. Christmas is awesome on every level! There's food, family, friends, cheer, presents, food, decorations, and a giant feast at the end of it! What's not to love? And something new and totally awesome was coming this year: Both my girlfriend Izzy and my best friend Noah were coming!

The day started off most excellently. I found a plate of assorted Christmas cookies on the table, score! Mom used to say they were for Santa when my brothers and I were younger, but Riley and I always ate them anyway. "Jingle Bell Rock" played on a radio in the kitchen, where Mom was making a huge meatloaf (I could smell it).

"Make sure you leave some cookies for your brothers and Dad, Owen!" Mom called out.

"I'm on it!" I grabbed four plates and placed seven cookies on each. There were eight cookies left. Hey, I got to the cookies first! I only had three before the music called me to dance, pulling me from my seat. I stepped to the beat into the kitchen, waving my arms as Mom placed the meatloaf in the oven. After she closed it, I took her by the hands and began swinging with her.

"Whoa, Owen! What are you doing?" she said, half-laughing. We took two steps sideways while pointing our arms in the same direction, then the other way. Soon we were twirling around the kitchen, the smell of meatloaf drifting around us. Who says fat people can't dance? Theory disproven, boo yeah.

By the third song ("Rocking Around the Christmas Tree"), Dad, Riley, and Uncle Wendell had come down. Dad entered the kitchen as I twirled Mom around. "Mind if I cut in, Owen?"

"Of course not!" I said, handing over Mom's hand. I joined Riley and Uncle Wendell in the dining room to finish my cookies- I was extra hungry after all that dancing.

Next to me, Uncle Wendell took a small bite of his cookie. "Mm, your mom sure knows her way around a cookie, huh boys? Extra sugar and butter always make a cookie great, for your future reference."

"But none of us could ever make them as good as Mom," I said.

Riley popped a cookie across from me. "Mhm. You know, I wonder why Luke isn't here."

"Probably not interested in the food," I said. "He is the runt of the litter after all." We all laughed. It was a running joke in the family. Luke only came down after Mom called him for lunch a few hours later, and we ate the meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy. I finished first and ran upstairs to text Noah and Izzy- they were coming after they ate lunch. I would be able to spend some quality time with them before Noah's family came too.

I climbed onto my bed and laid down, holding my phone over me. I texted Izzy and Noah the same thing at once: **Merry Christmas! Are you on your way here yet?**

Noah texted back a minute later.** No, I'm eating lunch right now. Did you finish early or something? You're forcing me to text under the table, I'm blaming you if my** **parents catch me. **He sent another text quickly after. **Oh yeah, Merry Christmas and all that jazz. Blah.**

Nothing from Izzy yet. **I don't mind being blamed. You're not happy about Christmas?**

**That, and "Merry Christmas" is a huge cliche (accent on the 'e'). My parents always ignore what I ask for and buy me sweater vests.**

**Oh, haha. Sorry about that dude!**

**Not like you're the one buying them for me. I'll be wearing an extra-special Christmas one (*coughagainstmywillcough*) when I come over.**

He texted again before I could respond. **Gotta go. Parents caught me.**

**Darn. See you soon!**

I switched over to texting Izzy. **Izzy?**

I sent two more texts in the span of an hour. **You there?**

**Hello?**

At the end of that hour, the doorbell rung. I sprang off my bed and ran down the steps. "I'll get it!" I thought that Noah might've known where Izzy was. There was a feeling in my gut that disturbed me, but I couldn't tell whether it was hunger or intuition.

I opened the door- and coughed loudly. True to his word, Noah wore a sparkly green sweater vest with a huge Santa face. The gold-knit phrase "Noah is a good boy- Santa" at the bottom sealed the deal. Noah grimaced. "Just let it out before you kill yourself."

"BAHAHAHAHA!" I picked him up and squeezed him to show I wasn't laughing at _him_, but at his sweater.

Mom and Dad came over. "What's so funny Owen?" Dad asked. "Merry Christmas, Noah."

"And to you, Mr. Nickelson." His voice was muffled in my hug, and I loosened it. "Don't!" he whispered. I didn't understand why, but I tightened up again.

"Are you hungry Noah? Did you have lunch?" Mom asked.

"Yup, he did! 'Scuse me, coming through." I carried him upstairs to my room, then shut the door. "Want me to let go of you now?"

"Yes." I let go. Noah collapsed to the floor and had a small coughing fit. "You know, you could have done it a little looser."

"Sorry. Why did you want me to hug you for so long?"

He got up and dusted himself off. "So that my sweater didn't launch a cheerful laugh fest with your parents."

"Oh, heheh. Smart. So, what do you wanna do?"

"First of all, I want to take this off and throw it in the garbage." Noah pulled off his sweater vest and tossed it on my bed, leaving an open blue button-down over a white long-sleeved top. "But I'll have to put it back on when my family comes. Bah humbug."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me! I forgot to tell you that Izzy's coming too," I said.

"Izzy? Well, that'll sure make things interesting."

"At least, I think she's coming. She hasn't responded to any of my texts."

"Really?" I took out my phone and showed him my texts to Izzy. The wrinkles in his forehead ran deeper. "It looks like her brother texted you back. Or maybe it's her pretending to be her brother."

"What?" I flipped my phone and read the newest text- and it wasn't from me this time. **This is Izzy's brother. She can't come tomorrow because our parents put her on a timeout, and we're going to a party at 6. **

I typed back, **Why can't she reach her phone? And where is this party?**

I got a reply quickly. **Our parents took it. Can we end this soon please? I don't want to get caught. The party's on 30 Sycamore Ave.**

**Thanks! Tell Izzy I said Merry Christmas, and sorry this is happening to her.**

**I will.**

I looked at Noah, who was watching over my shoulder. "Why'd you ask where the party was?" he said.

I took a deep breath. My mind was already set. "Because, we're going to go to it."

Noah's expression wiped blank for a second, then his eyebrows curved upward. "Wait, seriously? What if only certain people are invited?"

"Sorry, let me rephrase what I just said. We're going to_ crash_ the party."

Noah stared at me for several seconds. He was probably thinking my plan was- what was that word again? Oh yeah, ludicrous. "You and Izzy really are a perfect pair, aren't you?"

"Totally," I said.

* * *

><p><strong>Sebastian's POV (We're not going back to Izzy just yet.)<strong>

It took me about a day to text Owen for Izzy. Reasons why I did, in the form of events in chronological order:

1. I realized that Izzy really cares about Owen, and I care about her. I put two and two together, and figured out that Izzy must have cried because she wouldn't get to see Owen. She wanted to climb out her window_ twice_ for him through whatever punishment. And how far did she have to walk to his house? It reminded me of how she built a snowman in the house because she was worried about me. Maybe her deeds didn't seem as "out there" to her, but they definitely showed she cared. And besides, I felt a pang in my heart when she went back downstairs in the basement, like I was doing the wrong thing. Every time I told myself I was right, I felt otherwise.

2. Izzy's _first_ Christmas present to me. On Christmas morning, I opened my presents, and Izzy's stood out like a sore thumb compared to Mom's and Dad's: _The Encyclopedia of Immaturity_. I flipped through it out of curiosity and somehow got engrossed in it for hours.

3. Mom left Iz's cellphone on the kitchen counter.

No one else was there._ Is it fate?_ I thought, then dismissed it. Fate is too abstract a concept for someone like me. But I figured I owed Izzy another favor for the book she gave me, since I didn't get her anything back (I can't get an allowance until I'm thirteen next year). Sometimes I hate the conclusions my mind jumps to.

I seized her phone and went to her conversations with Owen. He sent her four unanswered texts (that's Reason 4- his texts played on my guilty conscience). I gave him a thorough answer why she couldn't visit him, but he responded right away with two questions. I hesitated to tell him where we were going for the party, then decided telling him would be quickest.

After answering him, he texted, **Thanks! Tell Izzy I said Merry Christmas, and sorry this is happening to her.**

That would be easy. I just needed to get away _now_, before my parents saw me.** I will.**

I turned the cellphone off and dropped it back on the counter, then walked out of the kitchen- and right into Mom.

I staggered back, and Mom stared at me with a concerned parent look. "Sebastian? What were you doing with Isabelle's phone?"

I could feel my resolve to stay secretive weaken. It wasn't like me to hide things from Mom and Dad. But yet, I wondered. Whenever Mom was around, all I saw was the good side of her- sweet and affectionate. However, I was seeing and hearing more of her nasty side recently, with her yelling at Izzy and locking her in the basement. I didn't want to believe it, but the evidence was there, clear as day. I was afraid of her.

So I spilled something else, on an impulse. "I helped Izzy make the snowman in the living room."

Mom's face went blank. "You what?"

"Can I get a timeout?"

"How... how much did you help her?"

"I gathered all the snow and made the middle part of the snowman with her." Mom's eyebrows entered her forehead. "She made it for me, Mom."

"I'm disappointed in you, Sebastian. You should know better."

"I know."

"... I'll have to discuss this with your father." She went upstairs. I stood in the kitchen until she came back with Dad. "We've decided since you've never done anything wrong like this before, you will be on timeout for just an hour. Alright? Hopefully you don't do something like this again."

"Alright," I said. We all walked to the stairs, with me between Mom and Dad. I have to admit, I sort of felt like a criminal. Except I'm pretty sure policemen don't wink at criminals... and Dad winked at me.

* * *

><p>How are Sebastian's and Owen's POVs? This is probably the last you will see of Seb's view. The next chapter will star Izzy, her family, and the whole first-generation cast (excluding Alejandro and Sierra, due to them not being contestants in TDA).<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Okay, I lied. This chapter has more of Owen's POV than Izzy's. Next chapter will be all in Izzy's POV, and will probably be the final one.

* * *

><p><strong>Owen's POV (Izzy will come next, I swears it.)<strong>

"You're insane," Noah said.

I chuckled. "Well, I _am_ with Izzy. Seriously though, it'd be an experience we would never forget!"

He pushed his hands in front of him. "No, no. There is no 'we' in this, buster. You expect to be able to sneak _nineteen_ more people in and not get caught?"

I had just suggested an idea Izzy would extremely love: Invite the whole cast of Total Drama to the party. It was my greatest stroke of genius yet, and it didn't even have anything to do with food! However, my little buddy wasn't taking it well at all.

"_If_ it's an invite-only party, we don't have to stay there, just barge in and make sure Izzy sees us. She'll be e-static!"

"Ecstatic."

I feel the urge to use more advanced words whenever I'm around Noah. Unfortunately, I don't tend to remember them as well as he does. "Yeah! It'll be like a surprise Christmas present for her, and she loves surprises."

"And it'll be a surprise for her too, when you all get pulled out by your hair by angry security guards."

I thought Noah was making this party sound much more complicated than it was. "She wouldn't go to that kind of party, would she? With security guards watching and stuff?"

"Dude, she's rich. Of course she would."

Izzy had never told me she was rich! She didn't dress, eat, or act like she was. I mean, she was in a whole bunch of movies after Total Drama Action, but she told me she donated all her earnings to party and weapon companies. "Wha- how do_ you_ know she's rich?"

"I've been inside her house before," Noah said, which just got me even more mixed-up.

"But Izzy told me her parents don't like having friends at their house!"

Noah squinted at me. "'Friends', she said?" I nodded. "She probably meant to say 'boyfriends' then."

A sick feeling entered my stomach- that's where I tend to feel emotions. "Or she could have lied just to me..."

"Don't sweat it, Owen, she would never lie to you." His eyes flicked away as he spoke. "Unless she were joking with you, that is."

I knew Noah was lying because of two reasons: He usually calls me nicknames, and my stomach's intuition made me feel worse when he spoke. Izzy didn't want me to come over... But why? "Maybe... Can we look up 30 Sycamore Avenue?" I went on my computer, and Noah stood behind me. When I looked up the address, images of a huge fancy-looking hotel popped up, called Fine Livings.

"Yup, there'll definitely be security guards," Noah said.

For a second or two, I considered backing out. Then I realized twenty-one people could easily break through, what, two security guards? We'd at least make it inside the party for like, a minute or two, even with security inside the party. "Anything is worth it as long as Izzy gets to see all her friends."

"Not all of the cast are her friends though. Why don't you just invite the people who are?"

I twirled my pointer fingers. Sure, my plan was for me a tiny bit, but mainly Izzy. "Well, I kinda wanted to see us all together for one big party again. The picture just isn't complete without everyone, y'know? I'm sure Izzy would agree."

"Sorry, I won't be in that 'picture'. I'll help you contact everyone since you invited me over, but that's it."

I didn't just want Noah there to make the cast complete, I mostly wanted him there as my friend. My heart sunk, but I knew it wasn't wise to push him when he was already reproachful of my plan. His offer to help was surprising in itself. "Fine. So who do we contact first?"

"Wait a second, do you have paper and a pen?" I retrieved them from my desk and handed them over. He sat on my bed. "Okay, I say we ask Eva first. I'll just text her."

I sat beside him. "That works." Noah wrote her name down and sent her a text. "I think Izzy's close to Lindsay too. I have her number."

Noah looked at me. "You're friends with her too?"

"Yeah! I have the whole cast's phone numbers!"

"How come I never knew this?"

I shrugged. "I dunno, you didn't ask?"

"Whatevs. Just give me eight or nine of their numbers, we'll split the workload." I gave him the people at the top of my contacts list (which was in alphabetical order): Beth, Bridgette, Cody, Courtney, DJ, Duncan, Ezekiel, and Gwen. That left me with Geoff, Heather, Harold, Justin, Katie and Sadie, Leshawna, Lindsay, Trent, and Tyler.

While I was giving him Gwen's number, his phone chimed. "That's from Eva," he said. I read Eva's text over his shoulder: **Whatever, I'm not busy. **We gave each other a thumbs-up, and Noah checked her name off on the paper.

I texted Lindsay first, and got a reply right away. **o****o, id luv 2! but 1st i have 2 check w/ my dad, im suposed 2 b hosting a party my house. im sure he wont mind tho.**

We looked at each other, and Noah basically voiced my thoughts. "Oh, the utter atrocity that is text speak." We had a good laugh.

TEXTS TO NOAH (He didn't want to call anyone):

Beth- **Sure, Id love to come! Can my parents come too?**

Bridgette- **I live far away in NJ, but if the whole cast's coming, count me in!**

Cody- **Sounds wicked! I'll be there! Gwen will be there too, right?**

Courtney- **Sorry, I'm busy.**

DJ- **Sorry, I always stay home with Momma on Christmas.**

Duncan- **I would if I could, but Courtney's at my house right now, and she doesn't wanna go. So no.**

Ezekiel- **Sounds hip, I'll play! I'll bring my swagger with me too, dawg.**

Gwen- **That doesn't sound fun. No thank you.**

"Uh, Owen? We have a problem," Noah said. "I have four people here who can't or won't come: Courtney, Duncan, DJ, and Gwen."

_Well, there goes my vision_, I thought. "Aw, dang it. I guess the whole-cast-excluding-you thing is out."

He went back to texting, and half an hour later, he showed me conversations he had with Courtney, DJ, and Gwen.

TEXT CONVERSATIONS WITH NOAH (Who I hereby dub "The Miracle Worker"):

_Courtney_

Noah:** According to Duncan, you're at his house right now. Can't you both come to the party?**

**Yes, but we don't want to.**

**What, do you not like Izzy or something?**

**It's not that, it's the fact that she's crazy!**

**Okay, I can't argue with you there. But seriously, look up the address I sent you.**

**Wow, it looks grand... We'll come, but you better not be lying to us. Both of us can kick your butt, you know that right?**

**I'm aware. And I'm not lying.**

**Good.**

_DJ_

Noah: **Can't you bring her with you? Look up the address before you decide.**

**Dang. We're coming.**

**Excellent.**

_Gwen_

Noah: **Look up the address first.**

**1) The hotel looks way expensive. 2) I really don't care that the whole cast is coming. 3) I don't care for parties.**

**1) Not even if it's paid for? 2) You don't want to see Leshawna, Duncan, DJ, Bridgette, etc.? 3) Do points 1 and 2 not sound worth it to you? Because they sound worth it to me.**

**You sound like a rude salesman. Can I bring my family?**

**Sure.**

**Then I'm convinced.**

"Uh, Noah? What are these people's families gonna say when we say we're crashing in?"

"It's only three extra people, I ignored Beth." I started chuckling, and Noah's usual frown grew deeper. "What?"

"_Only_ three extra people? I thought you would've gone nuts."

"That's Izzy's job. Who did you call so far?"

"Harold, Justin, Katie and Sadie, Leshawna, Trent, and Tyler. Harold and Justin aren't coming," I said, and sighed.

"Tell them to look up the address and that they can bring their families. Works like a charm."

It worked, just as he said. "Okay, all I have left are Geoff and Heather... can I just text instead of call Heather?"

Noah grinned, a rare sight. I've told him several times that he has a nice smile and nice teeth and should grin more, but he never listens. "What, are you afraid of her?"

"'Course not! I'd just... rather not call her, y'know? 'Cause she's mean?"

"Whatever you say, fraidy cat." Now that I think about it, I think that was sarcasm. I didn't understand what 'fraidy' meant at the time.

I texted Heather, then called up my buddy Geoff. After three rings, he picked up. "Hey-o, my man Owen! How's it goin'?"

"Great, Geoff!" I said.

"Merry Christmas dude!" He laughed. "Huh, I should've totally said that at the start."

"No worries, dude! Right back at'cha!"

That's when Noah grabbed my ear and pulled me to him. "Hey dude, remember the party?" he hissed.

"Oh, oops." He let go. "Uh, Geoff, wanna go to a sweet party to surprise Izzy? The Total Drama cast is coming!"

"Whoa, seriously dude? Whoohoohoohoo! Sign me up!"

"Sweet man! The address is 30 Sycamore Avenue. Come at six o'clock! See you there!" I hung up. "Well, looks like Geoff's coming!"

Just then, I got a text from Heather. **Ew, I wouldn't go to crazy girl's party to save my life.**

Then, a text from Lindsay. **Sry, my dad & me had 2 sort out my jobs 2 my sisters. i can come!**

"Let me handle this." Noah took my phone and texted Heather, **Not even if it's at a fancy hotel? And you can bring your family.**

**That novelty wore off when I was 5. And I hate my family. **I looked at Noah, but he was already texting back. How could she hate her family? I could never imagine hating mine!

**Then I'm sure it would benefit you to be away from them.**

**The Total Drama cast isn't much better, mind you.**

**But they're still better, right?**

**Barely. Why do you sound different?**

**I'm Noah.**

**No wonder your texts sounded slightly smarter. I'll come, but don't count on me staying for any longer than an hour.**

**No worries, dear, I won't.**

"What'd you call her 'dear' for?" I asked.

"It's sarcasm, genius."

"Oh. Hey, was that sarcasm you used just now?" Noah rolled his eyes, confirming I was correct. "Why are you helping so much anyway? You didn't have to persuade people to come, though it was nice of you."

"I just figured that since I'm not coming, everyone else should as compensation."

"But why won't _you_ come?" I asked.

"Easy. I don't attend parties, let alone crash them."

I couldn't suppress the feeling of loss weighing me down. "Oh, but it won't be the same without you..."

I felt Noah's eyes on me. "You don't need me to be there. I'll just be like a ghost, watching while everyone else is talking."

"Not necessarily, I'll talk to you! So will Eva, Cody, maybe Izzy if she can..."

He looked away. "Believe me, Owen, you're going to be the life of the party. You won't have time to talk to me, you'll be too busy talking to everyone else."

A twinge went off in my stomach- surely he didn't think that way all the time, right? Perhaps that was why he never went to any parties with me. "What, you don't have faith in me?"

He stared at me for a silent second. "My God. You're guilt-tripping me, aren't you?"

I placed two fingers against my chest, as was the Boy Scout salute when I was little. "I will not leave you stranded, my little buddy."

"You know, sometimes I wonder why we're friends," he said. But those words were music to my ears, because that's when I knew that he was coming. And how did I thank him? With a hug, of course!

**(Finally back to Izzy, folks!)**

* * *

><p>We've finally arrived at Christmas Day, people! Phew. A lot really happened on Christmas Eve, eh? Quite the emotional roller coaster, except it wasn't nearly as fun as a real roller coaster. Seb was right- Dad brought me my pillow and blanket, pajamas, and dental care at night. Mom surprisingly gave me dinner that day, and breakfast and lunch the next. I sure was a pampered prisoner! Not that I wasn't miserable, of course. I ended up making a rubber band ball and seeing if I could throw it all the way across the room. I could! I also lined up all the furniture a distance away from each other and jumped across them. Then I did gymnastics on them. All of it was mildly fun, but none of it could compare to the snowman or the makeout session with Owen that day.<p>

I've been trying my best not to spoil any events of the future of the past, but this is too important: For Christmas, I received the surprise of my life. That is all I will reveal. Aren't I devious?

I was dangling upside down on the sofa, seeing if I could touch the ground when I heard the door click. I flipped back up. _Could this be it?_ _Is my time over?_ I thought. It felt like I had been in there for an age, never knowing what time it was or even seeing the light of day (or the dark of night).

As I reached the base of the stairs, the door opened to reveal Seb. My heart floated up like a balloon. Seb had never opened the door before, maybe it was a sign?

He looked down at me. "Izzy, you can come out now. We have to get ready for the party."

It was! Too bad I had to spend my first several hours of freedom at a boring party though. "Are we eating dinner first?"

"Nope, we'll be having dinner there." I jumped the steps three at a time and landed past Seb, then walked without looking back. I still held a grudge against him for refusing to text Owen for me. Owen was probably hating me right now...

"Izzy, wait!"

I nearly turned around, but stopped myself. "What?"

"I texted Owen you couldn't come over."

My grudge immediately unfolded, leaving me with empty space. Literally, I had no thoughts to say out loud. I guess that's the feeling of surprise, eh?

Seb put his hands behind his back, glancing at the floor. "It's a long story why... but Owen said to tell you Merry Christmas, and that he's sorry you were on a timeout. Also, my discipline record is no longer clean."

A feeling rose in my heart that I can only describe as younger sibling pride. I closed the space between us and pulled him in for a hug, wrapping one arm around his head. "I'm proud of you, bro. And thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Seb said. "Maybe I'll feel proud too eventually. Thanks for the book, by the way."

I let go of him. "Ooh, did you read it yet? There's loads of fun stuff in there, I bought a copy for myself too! We can experiment with them together!"

His eyes lit up, something I saw for the first time while we built the snowman. At long last, he was releasing his inner child. "That'd be great! Now that I'm a certified criminal in our household, I don't really care about breaking rules anymore."

Seb actually cracked a joke! Oh, how he was growing up so fast. "Ohoho, you're not a criminal yet, little 'un. One felony isn't enough to become wanted by the cops."

"You only did one to get wanted by the RCMP."

I thought for a few seconds, and came up with nothing. I clicked my tongue. "Touche."

Dad came out from the kitchen, wearing a black suit with a green and red checkered tie. "Get dressed, Isabelle. You too, Sebastian. We're leaving soon."

Seb ran to the stairs. I slid over to Dad, pulling out the picture I found in the basement from my coat pocket. "Dad, I found this picture in the basement... the middle guy is you, right?" I pointed to the guy in the middle, a.k.a. younger Dad.

He was silent. His lips tugged up at one corner as he took the picture from me, staring into it. His answer came several seconds later. "Yes. But I lost touch with all these people after college. They were the best friends I had ever met." He showed me the picture and put his finger on the guy next to him- enormous with brown hair. "I was the closest to him by far. We were friends since childhood, and he's the one who introduced me to all the rest of the people here."

He lowered the picture to his stomach, looked at it some more, then lifted his eyes to me. They were full of warmth, something I never saw in them before. Like lukewarm coffee put into a microwave. "It's a shame that your mother won't let Owen around you. Even on reality TV, I can tell he has a golden heart and would treat you well."

That was one thing I never thought I'd hear him say. Why are there all these firsts? I must have a bad memory. "He does- er, on the show. If you approve of him, can't you get Mom to too?"

Dad's mouth puckered a little. "I don't think so. She has to acknowledge her own past first, something I can't force on her. She's just as stubborn as you are, you know."

I knew I would probably get in trouble for asking, but in the end, my curiosity won over my common sense. I should work on that a little. "Why did you marry her?"

Dad looked as though he was about to reprimand me, but then he turned his gaze to the picture, pinching his chin. Soon, he chuckled. "Well, Isabelle, I admired her gumption. And her red hair. She shaped me to be a more social, polite man."

"Do you agree with the way Mom punishes me?" I asked.

"Most times I do. You deserve proper punishment for your antics, you know. But lately since we figured out grounding you has no effect, she started experimenting with long timeouts. Like your time in the basement. That I didn't approve of, but I can't change your mother's mind once it's set." He looked toward the living room. "Speaking of your mother, she expects you upstairs."

"I'm on it." I veered into the living room and up the stairs, Dad's words still ringing in my ears. _She shaped me to be a more social, polite man. _More like mind-wiped him to be like her, making him leave memories of his friends behind in a dusty dresser. And just when I had pulled Seb out of Mom's clutches...

"Isabelle, is that you?" Mom called, sounding somewhat breathless. She ran out of her bedroom and met me at the top, pulling me to where she came from. Her face was made-up and her hair was straightened, and she wore a green mermaid gown. "We have to hurry! It would be a disgrace not to be first at our own party, not to mention_ both_ your father's and my bosses are coming."

I froze when we arrived at the bathroom. The white of the counter was hardly visible under makeup containers, brushes, and bottles. But worst of all, the flatiron... it was alive and waiting.

I turned, but Mom blocked my path through the doorway. "I don't care that it's your party this time, I am_ not_ putting on face paint or burning my hair to a crisp."

"Isabelle, please don't be difficult. This is the first party your father and I are having that our bosses are attending, and the whole family has to look their best. Can't you understand that?"

"Oh, I can, but what makes you think I'll let you touch me after locking me in the basement?" Mom's rigid posture dropped, as did her expression. I felt a wicked delight at that, like adrenaline. "That's right, nothing. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to put my dress on." She parted the way, and I passed without so much as a glance.

Now, I never ever wear dresses except for acting, but there is one exception to that rule: A red velvet short-sleeved dress with small diamond cutouts at the waist (courtesy of my scissors). I would have preferred for it to be a two-piece, but Mom was already going to freak out at the cutouts, which my coat would conceal until the party. I put on my dress with matching flats and my coat, then admired myself in my mirror. _Perfection._

I went out and knocked on Seb's door. "Coming Mom!" he yelled. A few seconds later, he opened the door in a suit like Dad's and his hair parted and slicked.

"Aww, I think I'll call you Penguin Junior," I said, and put my arm out toward him. "Care to escort me down the stairs?"

He looked at it. "Do I have to?" I took his arm instead and began strutting down the stairs, lifting my chin in the air. Seb stared at me, his lips twitching. "Izzy, why are you walking like that?"

"Shh! I'm pretending to be the belle of the ball, descending the staircase." When we reached the bottom, I said, "Shame it has to be a boring ball. It'd be way more fun with Owen as my date, but that would take a Christmas miracle to happen."

Shortly later, we went outside. It was already dark, and I had to remind myself that this was the day after yesterday- the last time I saw the sky was in the afternoon. We all gathered in the car for what turned to be the most awkward ride in my life. We heard crickets chirping. Dad tried to talk to Mom a few times, but she ignored him and all of us. Seb and I had played three silent games of bingo on my foggy window when Mom told him to stop leaning over. I wrote "MERRY CHRISTMAS PEEPS!" on the rest of the window instead.

"You should've written that backwards if you want people to read it," Seb whispered.

"Oh, crap." I smudged out my message and added a bow to make it look like a present, because I had run out of space.

Soon we pulled inside a huge parking lot of a huge hotel. We stepped out, and Mom faced Seb and me. "Sebastian, Isabelle, be on your best behavior for tonight, okay? You two have been getting into trouble lately, and we cannot afford embarrassment in front of such important company." She was staring at me while speaking. I stared at her back until she looked away, and we went through the revolving door.

Even though we had never went to a party at Fine Livings before, I became immediately accustomed to the interior: Expansive white walls; black crystal floor; giant lit chandelier; and glimmering gold lights, trees, and wreathes placed all around. Most of the gatherings we went to were in hotels like these. Mom spoke with the receptionist at the front desk, who then led us to the third floor where our reserved room was- behind giant wooden doors.

_Let the boredom begin_, I thought.

* * *

><p><strong>Owen's POV (Try not to have overlapping plans on Christmas.)<strong>

"Absolutely NOT, Owen! You are NOT going off to some party while we have guests at our house that YOU invited!"

Mom sometimes misses a few points of what I tell her. She's pretty darn scary when she's mad! "Mom, I said that we can_ all_ go to Izzy's party, including Noah's family. Izzy really wants Noah and me there."

"Oh. I guess that's okay then. Did Noah let his family know?"

"Yup."

"Okay then, that should be fine." She chuckled. "Maybe I'll get to dance with your dad some more."

I went back upstairs, where Noah had been watching us from the railing. He was smiling in a way that looked like mocking. "Well, that went well."

"Uh, if you count overall," I said. "We'll never be able to sneak in now though."

"We passed that threshold at five, Owen."

"Did we? Huh. Still, this is gonna be awesome!"

"Yay! Let's look like a flash mob and last just as long as one before we get thrown out."

I was knowledgeable of sarcasm by now, though it's kind of hard to tell when Noah uses it sometimes because he usually speaks flat. This time, though, it was obvious. "Aw, Noah, we gotta figure out a way to get you psyched! At least you'll get to see the inside of a fancy hotel for a short while."

"Yes, because that has been my goal all my life. Look, I _can't_ get psyched about this, alright? There are a million ways this plan could go wrong. Everyone will leave when we say we're crashing in-"

"Besides Duncan."

"Courtney will drag him away. We have absolutely no idea which room the party's in, and how are we gonna explain ourselves when employees see a swarm of teenagers and their families? They might bring enough bodyguards to stop us before we even _get_ to the party, who knows? And we are going to mortify Izzy's parents when we, Izzy's fellow cast members, barge in on their lovely evening."

I had texted Sebastian earlier about which room the party was in, but had gotten no reply... We were just going to have to mention Izzy's last name to the receptionist and hope for an answer. Tension was written all over Noah's face, even reflected in his eyes, and it was kind of unnerving to be honest. "Noah, you're thinking way too much about this. Let's just have fun, okay? No matter what happens."

His face slowly settled, though the frustration was still there in the background. "I'm taking a nap on your bed. Wake me up when it's time." He turned away and entered my bedroom, and I occupied myself with the kitchen until his family came. Noah went with them to the party. My family and I crammed into our van and sang carols all the way there. The only person who seemed nearly as unhappy as Noah was Luke, who wore headphones and listened to his own music to block us out.

Dad was looking back and forth between the GPS and Fine Livings Hotel as we arrived. "This is really it, Owen? For real?"

"You betcha!" I said. The white building looked like a gigantic marshmallow block with many lit windows, which was awesome!

We climbed up the steps to the revolving door. Dad, Riley, Uncle Wendell, and I each filled one gap, and Mom and Luke came after us. I didn't even noticed Noah and his family come in, because I was too busy admiring my surroundings. All the decorations were a brilliant gold that nearly blinded me, and it really was the most majestic place I had ever been in.

I snapped out of it when I saw Mom heading toward the receptionist. "Mom, wait! We're waiting for the whole Total Drama cast to come first."

She stopped and turned around. "You are? Well, I suppose that'll be a pleasant surprise for Izzy."

"That's the plan!" I winked at Noah, who just looked away. I thought, _Man, if there were a way to make him happy..._

Soon Beth and her parents arrived. "Hey Beth!" I shouted, running toward her.

"Hi Owen!" I swept her up in a hug, something I was planning to do for everyone.

DJ and his mom came next, then Courtney and Duncan. They all were dressed up, probably because they were told to search the address. "Hey guys!" I fist-bumped DJ and Duncan.

"Hey dude! How's it going?" DJ said.

"I'm going to look around a bit before the whole cast gets here," Duncan said, and DJ and I watched him run down one of the halls.

"Duncan, no! _No stealing_!" Courtney shouted, chasing after him.

By 6:30, most of the cast had come besides Geoff and Bridgette, and the lobby was buzzing with chatter. True to my word, I kept one eye on Noah to make sure he wasn't lonely, but he was mostly with Eva. I rotated between the groups formed: Noah and Eva; Gwen, Trent, DJ, Cody, Harold, and Leshawna; Katie and Sadie and Justin; and Lindsay, Beth, Tyler, and Ezekiel. Heather stood alone in a long navy blue dress, and I hesitated to talk to her. But ignoring her would've been bad hosting, and Mom was giving me warning looks from where people's families were standing.

I walked over to Heather. "Um, you look pretty tonight Heather!"

She turned away. "Don't talk to me." And that was that. Hey, at least I tried!

"Hey, Owen! How come only six people, not counting you and Noah, got the memo about the fancy hotel?" Trent called.

Noah spoke before I could. "Duncan and Courtney also got the 'memo', but they're playing cat and mouse right now. We didn't tell Lindsay, she just dressed up because... well, she's Lindsay."

"I like being me!" Lindsay said.

Noah flicked his eyes up. "Technically, you all got the address, which you could've easily looked up. Owen and I had to tell some people directly to convince them to come here."

"Now I can see the effectiveness in that," Leshawna said. "But I wish you told me so I could get my hair did before I came here."

Geoff leapt into the lobby with a loud thump, grabbing everyone's attention. "Wassup, dudes and dudettes! Oh my gosh, this is gonna be the best party EVAH! Look at this place Bridge, it reeks of party-liciousness!"

A chuckling Bridgette stepped out from behind Geoff. "Or if you wanted to translate that into proper English, this place is amazing basically."

Greetings rose in the air, and I delivered my own in the form of a hug. "Geoff! Bridgette! So glad you peeps could make it!"

"Sorry we're late, we both live pretty far away from here," Bridgette said. "We had to come here by airplane."

"Did you guys go on the _same_ airplane? With seats next to each other?" Tyler said with a large shameless grin.

"Aw, I wish! We just saw each other outside the entrance," Geoff said. He nudged Bridgette with his elbow. "But we made up for the lost time there, eh Bridge?" Bridgette blushed, and laughs and smiles arose.

"Ah, aren't dirty implications the spice of life? Are we going to Izzy's party or what?" Noah said.

"What about Duncan and Courtney?" DJ said.

"We're here!" Courtney shouted, sounding quite breathy. She was pulling Duncan behind her, who wore a deep scowl.

Noah was looking at me while jerking his head to the front desk. The receptionist lady was whispering into a walkie talkie while glancing the cast's way. "You go," I mouthed. He let out a sigh I couldn't hear and went. He's smart, surely he was thinking the same plan as me to find the party location (if not a better one). And unlike me, he didn't crumble under pressure.

I didn't take my eyes off them as they talked, biting my nails. Noah appeared to be doing okay at first, but then his voice began to grow louder and harsher. The receptionist was scowling and trying to talk over him, and I went over to see what was up.

"I don't think you should be deciding for the hosts. At least_ ask_ them to come see if they recognize us, they would know their guests better than an incomplete guest list! You're trying to keep us out because you hate reality show stars, don't you?"

"Martha Wellington gave us the guest list herself, and every person on it has been checked out. Therefore, I cannot let you in."

"Do you even know who we are? We're the cast of the hottest reality show on television, Total Drama. The proof is all over the internet AND celebrity news. And we know the daughter of the Wellingtons from Total Drama, I'm one of her friends and Owen-" Noah patted my shoulder- "he's her boyfriend."

"Sorry kid, but I don't believe you."

"Look us up right now and see for yourself! Or are you only pretending not to know us, you cruel hater?"

The receptionist's walkie talkie spoke. "Did he say the whole Total Drama cast is here? Sandra, why aren't you letting them in?"

"Because they weren't invited!" Sandra said into it.

"But if they have connections, the hosts should at least come out to make sure they didn't forget to invite anyone."

"Surely they can't be bothered with that right now?"

"This is a bunch of celebrities we're talking about here, of course they can be bothered. And even if the cast doesn't have connections, what if the hosts want them in the party? Our priority is to make our guests happy, remember?"

Sandra sighed and muttered something like, "Reality show rats." She said into the walkie talkie, "Uh huh."

"By the way, can you get all their signatures for me?"

"Mhm." Sandra slapped a notepad and a pen in front of Noah. "My manager wants all of your signatures."

"We heard," Noah said in an airy tone, and scribbled his name on the notepad. He slid it to me without looking. He was really getting into character!

I signed the notepad and brought it to the other cast members. "Attention everyone! The manager wants us all to sign this notepad, so pass it around, okay?"

Courtney raised her hand. "I'll take it!" I gave the notepad to her and a thumbs-up to Duncan as he snuck into the crowd.

I returned to Noah, who had his back turned to the front desk. I gave him a low high-five. "Nice acting, dude."

"Eh, it's easy to act like an angry arrogant celebrity. I hope you're not mad at me for changing the plan, I thought actually getting invited through Izzy was a better gamble than crashing. Turns out her parents are actually _hosting_ the party. The lady looked on the verge of calling security on us anyway."

"No no, that was excellent improvation!"

"Improvisation."

"Improvisation! We can actually enjoy the party now, thanks to you!"

"Not exactly... Owen, Izzy didn't tell you something about her parents. You see, they really care about she hangs out with. I managed to scrape by with them, but they won't let you hang out with Izzy because... of... the way you look and act."

My stomach felt hollowed out. I was used to criticism about my weight, gas, etc., but it really sucked that those things were keeping me apart from Izzy. "Oh... Really?" Noah nodded, eyebrows curled slightly. "Well, it's understandable I guess. Izzy probably didn't tell me because she didn't want me to feel hurt."

"Do you?"

"Nah, just disappointed."

Noah exhaled, eyebrows falling back into place. "Good. Sorry to add to your disappointment, but her parents probably won't let you into their party."

My everything fell: My heart, my face, my posture. My plan had backfired in the worst possible way- the whole cast had come, but I wouldn't get to party with them or Izzy. "Okay, now I'm_ really_ disappointed. Ah..."

Eva came up to us. "What was that ruckus at the front desk about?"

Noah and I exchanged glances. We didn't have to tell anyone about the original plan if Noah's plan worked, right? "Uh, we'll tell you later," Noah said.

An elevator opened, and out stepped Izzy, Sebastian, and their parents. I saw Izzy wearing a dress for the first time, and I have to say- I like her two-pieces better. She still looked gorgeous as usual though! Since I had never seen the rest of her family before, they kind of felt like strangers, but were definitely a good-looking bunch. Her mom looked a lot like her- even their features contorted the same way while arguing. "You don't have a choice, Isabelle, you_ will_ wear your coat over the dress you ruined."

"Oh, I dunno, I like to be my own master," Izzy said. "And I say I'm keeping my coat off."

The receptionist cleared her throat, and their heads jerked in her direction. "Mister and Missus Wellington? Sorry for interrupting your evening, but this group of teenagers claims you know them."

Izzy met my gaze, her mouth forming my name. I nodded with a grin that was probably cheesy in my excitement. Her eyes swept the cast, wide and bright, and her face broke into the largest, most beautiful smile I had ever seen. And right then, I knew that that alone was better than any gift I had received in my lifetime.


	5. Chapter 5

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

I just realized Frozen came out way after TDA. Therefore, this story is officially an AU.

**WARNING: HUGE SPOILERS FOR FROZEN. LIKE, ASTRONOMICAL. If you haven't watched the movie and plan to, skip the epilogue entirely just to be on the safe side.**

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><p>Okay, I will just skip to the surprise-of-my-life event because describing the boring details of the party would be tedious as heck: The whole Total Drama cast showed up! They were like angels come down to save me from hell (to me, boredom is one of the definitions of hell). I, the final formerly-lost angel, would join them, and we would all fly away to somewhere fun (not heaven, I don't want to die yet).<p>

I had a million questions in my mind, but they all were like feathers with the weightless feeling I had. I mean, the whole cast had come for me! I didn't know they liked me that much. Unless they just came for the chow, heheh. Still, it was a Christmas miracle. I sure was glad Mom brought Seb and me out of her lack of trust in us.

As the receptionist spoke something in the background, I was busy checking the cast members off on a mental list. My eyes were drawn to Owen first, then to my other favorite people, Noah and Eva. Once I finished my attendance, I realized that Mom and Dad were arguing.

"Elizabeth, the whole group came here for Isabelle!" Dad said. "Are we really going to send them back home now?"

"Have you _seen_ these teenagers on TV? They will trash the party and completely embarrass us! In front of our bosses! Besides, we can't reward Isabelle for bad behavior," Mom snapped.

"I'll behave," Courtney said, then pointed at Duncan. "And I'll make sure he does too."

"Dear, try to consider our daughter's happiness this time," Dad whispered.

There was a flicker in Mom's eyes, and her scowl faltered. She shook her head. "We can't." She faced everyone else, who was already looking at her. "I'm sorry that you all have come, as we will have to refuse your entry. We are sticking to our guest list for our party."

The whole cast and Noah's and Owen's families turned around to Noah and Owen. "You said we were invited!" Leshawna shouted, pointing at Owen.

Cody jabbed a finger at Noah. "He did too!"

I got two things from this moment: 1) Owen and Noah brought the whole cast together for me, and 2) I had to save them from an angry mob. "Everyone follow me! Let's crash the party!" I yelled over the voices.

They all fell silent. "You know, it's actually pretty ironic that you said that," Noah said, shaky laughter in his voice. "We were originally going to crash the party and not tell you guys until we got to it." A flood of voices slammed into my ears. _Well, there goes my chance to save them_, I thought. As I watched the group move in on Noah and Owen, a hand grabbed my arm. I yelped and tried to pull away, but Mom had a steel grip. She pulled me into one of the halls.

"Did you invite all those people?" Mom half-said, half-hissed.

I yanked my arm away, heart pulsing in my ears. "No!"

"I don't believe you. Look what your father and I had to do- turn them all back home! You have to ask before you invite anyone Isabelle!"

"You really don't care about my happiness, do you?" I yelled. "You're sending away all my friends. You lock me up whenever I do something you don't like. You won't let me see my own _boyfriend_!"

Mom slid her hand under my chin. I froze. Her fingers were icy cold. I twisted my head away, and saw Mom's face flinch. "Owen is not your boyfriend. You deserve better than him and most of these people you call your friends. You're beautiful and of higher class than they are, and you possess a spirit like my own as an adolescent. I've just been trying to tame it so you can live a fulfilling life when you're older."

Mom's words bounced off me like foam frisbees. I thought they were pure garbage. "Don't you think all those choices should be mine? Maybe you don't see the worth in the people I love, but I do. What if I want to hang out with them and act wild, huh?"

I hated the look Mom was giving me, like she had the wisdom of everything and I didn't. "Isabelle, that's not how you're going to succeed in this world."

"Really? Making good relations seems like the recipe to success to me, you follow it too! Except in our family, you fail miserably in that account."

Her face was like a cement brick crumbling- it was showing little cracks now. I wanted to see if I could break it, my hate for her was burning me up. "No, I only fail with you," she said. "I gave you free reign with your phone to contact anyone you like, but that tempted you into seeing Owen in person. I can't let you contact him anymore."

It felt like she had pushed a button inside of me that spilled all my contents onto the floor. Except rage. No, that came roaring back a hundred times over. "Wrong, I won't let _you_ stop me. I am beyond done with letting you control my life. I am exhausted of being pushed around like a stupid ragdoll, like I don't have a mind of my own! Just because I'm certifiably crazy doesn't mean I can't make any decisions, for God's sake! What makes you think I can be happy with you treating me this way? I'M NOT LIKE YOU, MOM! I DON'T WANT TO BE FAKE!"

Mom stepped back and braced herself against the wall, her mouth moving between open and closed. Tears shone in her eyes, and the fine wrinkles she had turned prominent. I had won, but why couldn't I bring myself to stare at Mom's face and soak in my victory?

She sank down, knees coming in front of her face. "I'm fake, huh? I really_ have_ become my mother."

I knew absolutely nothing about my grandmother on Mom's side. She was dead. "What?"

Now it was Mom who couldn't look at me more than briefly as gray tears fell down her cheeks. "Your grandmother tried to give me a perfect life. She thought she could change me so I would like her ideals. I was just as stubborn as you, but a lot more insecure. She criticized me constantly, and one day I just let her do what she wanted with me in the hopes I'd be made perfect, especially in her eyes. I have deluded myself. I _am_ a monster, I _have_ failed our whole family, I am living a web of my own lies."

My thoughts were scrambled. Was this a case of Invasion of the Body Snatchers? Yet, my intuition was telling me she was telling the truth, and my intuition never lies. "We all live in our own lies, Mom. Life isn't fun with just reality."

Mom laughed and sniffled, two amazingly weird sounds to hear from her. "I suppose. It's amazing how I was miserable with your grandmother, yet I still miss her. She's a collection of memories I prefer to keep stored away. But I need to recall my childhood so I don't act like her anymore."

_Is this real?_ I thought._ Probably, but I can never be sure_. I was tempted to sit by her. "That would be wonderful..."

"I'm glad you're so strong and independent. Even if you don't make a good living, those qualities will bring you more fulfillment than I have ever experienced."

I actually felt a pleasant tingling from those words. Those were_ real_ compliments, the type Mom hadn't given me in forever. "Now let's not get too mushy! As a fresh start, can I hang out with my friends in our party please?"

A little of Mom's hardness came back. "Have they ever influenced you to commit any crimes?"

"Uh, I'm more of a bad influence on _them_."

"If they are still there, then yes. Just make sure you all behave. Your father and I are still working on getting you excused from your kitchen accident."

I could feel hope rising inside of me, but I suppressed it. "What about Owen?"

My heart lurched in the two seconds that Mom was silent. "For today. I would like to have him over so I can supervise you two first, then decide."

Mom had exceeded my expectations to infinity. I was over the clouds, I was floating. "Sounds terrific! Beyond amazing! Thank you thank you thank you!"

"You're welcome," I heard her say as I sprinted out of the hall into the lobby. The air deflated out of me, and I stopped. Everyone was gone.

"Miss Wellington?" I turned to the receptionist. "Your father booked a room for the people that were here. He would like you to join them." She pointed down the hall from where I just came. "Third door to your left."

I swear, this day just kept getting better and better. For once, my parents were working_ for_ me, not against me. "Really? Neat-o!" I ran back, passing Mom halfway.

"Izzy!" Mom said. I turned around. The vulnerability was swept off her face, but there were still faint lines on her cheeks. "I'm sorry."

I looked into her eyes. They were different now, clearer. Maybe it was my imagination, but they deserved my apology. "I'm sorry too."

I went to the third door on my left in the hall and pushed open the doors to a glorious sight. Almost everyone was dancing in the middle of a huge room. "All I Want for Christmas is You" played from speakers in all four corners. A glistening buffet stretched across one wall. Eva and Noah were sitting together at one of the tables, and Heather sat by her lonesome. My first instinct to was to join Owen on the dance floor, but I was feeling considerate tonight. So I joined Eva and Noah!

I ran to their table and jumped on the back of a chair, then climbed in. "Hi guys!"

"Getting in from the side would've been easier," Noah said.

I leaned over and pinched his cheek. "Oh Noel, I know you're smiling inside."

"Noel? Are you becoming Lindsay n-"

"Merry Christmas! Thanks for bringing the whole cast here, by the way. It was really nice of you and Owen."

"Yeah, well, we nearly got beat up by them until your dad rescued us," Noah said, then nudged Eva. "But She-Hulk here would've held them off while we made a run for it, right?"

Eva gave a grin that looked more like baring her teeth. I do that sometimes just for scares. "Nah, I would've flattened you guys." Noah's mouth fell open. "Kidding. Can't you take a joke?"

"Not by you!"

"Not by me either," I said, and stood up. "Come on, let's go to the dance floor!" When neither of them moved, I grabbed their hands and pulled them. Noah stumbled out of his seat, but Eva was too strong for me, and I accidentally let go of her. I staggered backwards with Noah in tow before regaining my balance. "Thanks for the boost Eva!" I ignored Noah's whining and dragged him into the crowd. But the second I let go, he scrammed. Le sigh.

I found Owen in the crowd instead, and jumped on his back. "WAH!" he shouted, turning his head.

"Don't worry, it's Izzy!" I said.

"Izzy? Is it really you?" He met eyes with me. "It is! I thought you were staying with your parents, but it's awesome that you're here!"

"I know right? Now I get to have you as my Christmas date!"

The joy drained from his expression. His mouth became a solemn line instead of a smile. "Here, anyway. I found out why you can't have me over. It's your parents, right?"

"Not anymore. They both approve of you now."

His eyebrows shot up, his jaw going down. "Wow! How did you do that?"

"Voodoo magic, baby." Owen laughed and leaned forward, and I met his lips. Kissing while riding your boyfriend's back, boo yeah. It would've been even more epic if Owen was riding someone too, but I doubt they could carry him. Actually, Eva could maybe fit that role! I'll ask her if she's able to lift him later.

"Cotton-Eyed Joe" came on, and I fell off Owen's back. "Oh my geese, I love this song! C'mon, we gotta get Noah!"

As we ran off the dance floor, Owen asked, "Why not Eva too?"

"We can't pull her." We covered the distance to Noah's and Eva's table and grabbed Noah. "AMBUSH!"

"GAH! WHAT IN TARNATION-" Noah continued spurting out phrases as we dragged him between us.

"Ah, stop your yappin'," I said. Owen and I stopped on the edge of the crowd. "We're here. Now dance."

"Can you let go of me first?"

"Ohoho, no. No escaping this one pal!"

Looking at everyone else dancing in rows, he said, "I don't know how to dance to this anyway."

"Really dude? We have to bring you to more parties!" Owen said.

"It's easy to learn," I said, and instructed him. Once he (sort of) got it down, we walked into the heart of the group, between Cody and DJ.

"'Sup dudes? And Izzy," Cody said with a chuckle. "Noah, you're actually dancing?"

"Not happy to." We all clapped and spun, then started the dance routine over again.

"You're supposed to tap with your _right_ foot," I said.

"Does it matter?" Noah said.

"Hm, maybe not." I experimented with using my left foot first for the rest of the dance. By the end of it, Noah didn't look happy, but at least he wasn't giving Owen and me death glares. I patted his head. "You did well, young dance apprentice."

"Yup, I'll definitely need to know how to dance to Cotton-Eyed Joe for my future." He walked away, and a slow song came on.

Owen and I looked at each other. "Do you wanna dance to this one?" he asked.

"Nope."

"Yeah, me either. How does the buffet sound?"

"Duh, delicious!" We ran to the buffet and piled our plates with most of the major food groups: Turkey, pasta, meat and vegetable kabobs, anything appetizing. Then we pigged out. Later, I talked at least once to everyone, even Heather and Justin (my evil ex). But I have to admit, the moments that resonated with me the most were the ones with my closest friends, which is why I wrote them here. About 50% of the time, I was trying to get Noah to have fun. By the way, Noah waited a month later to tell Owen and I that that party was the second-best one he'd ever been to, the sly devil.

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><p>I feel the need to write about the day after Christmas all of a sudden, so I will! I think this is called an 'epilogue' or something of that sort. Anyway, Mom let me invite Noah and Owen over. I would say that was really nice of her, but she was really just acting like a normal parent, which is a high achievement in itself.<p>

I'll start with the shocking revelation that was revealed through Owen's arrival. The doorbell rang, and Dad came lumbering down the stairs in his robe. "Can't you have invited your friends a little later Izzy?" he grumbled.

I sprang up from the living room sofa and walked toward him. It was time to do something awkward, but necessary. "You let my nickname slip."

"Truthfully, I've always preferred calling you that to Isabelle." He gave me a sloppy wink. "Suits you more."

On the last step, I stepped forward and hugged him, reaching only his waist. It kind of felt like I was hugging a foreign object, but at least his sweater was nice and soft. I felt his arms slide around my shoulders. "Thank you for booking a party for the cast last night."

He chuckled. "Well, I didn't want to send all of them back home." He let go and walked toward the door. "Your mom has been quiet lately. Did you two argue?"

"Yeah. We didn't argue like that since I signed up for Total Drama! We're better now though, trust me."

"That's good. Maybe the family can have a fresh start_ before_ the new year." Dad opened the door to reveal Owen and Mr. Nickelson in matching brown trench coats. Cold flooded into the house. "Hello Owen! And you must be Owen's father. Please, come in."

They came in, and I slid over to Owen. "May I take your coat, sir?" I said in an imitation of a man's voice.

Owen grinned. "Wow, not bad!" He took off his coat and handed it to me.

As I hung his coat in the closet, something caught in Dad's voice grabbed my attention. "Leroy? Is that you?"

"Bob?" Mr. Nickelson whispered. "My God, have you changed." I shut the closet and turned around to see him and Dad embracing each other. Tears were running down both of their faces.

"It's been so long! Where you have been?" Dad said.

"Only a few miles away from here. If I had known you were here, I would have come earlier." Owen and I glanced at each other. It felt like we were stepping in on a private moment, so we retreated to the living room.

Owen's eyes swept the room. "You have a really nice place!" They hit the TV on the wall and slid open a tad wider. "Whoa, is that a plasma TV?"

"Nah, it's a LCD," I said.

"It must be awesome for watching movies and stuff!"

I shrugged. "I guess. Seb uses it more than I do."

"Yeah, Izzy doesn't watch that many movies." Seb came into the living room. "Hi Owen."

"Hey dude!" Owen went over to him and shook his hand vigorously. "Nice to meet you! You're Izzy's younger brother, right?"

"Yup. I came in here to watch a movie, but I'll leave if you guys are using the TV."

"Nah man, stay! Maybe we can all find a movie to watch together." Owen turned to me. "What do you think about that?"

"Okay, sure! How about 'The Rat Plague'?" I made claws with my hands and bared my teeth for special effect.

Seb took a step backward. "Anything but that, please."

Seb hates horror movies. One time I pinned him down and forced him to watch half of "The Exorcist", and he didn't talk to me for days. "'Friday the 13th'? It's not even that scary."

"Heck no! Can we just watch Frozen?"

"Heck no!" I shouted.

"Oh, I heard of Frozen! Is it good?" Owen said, which launched Seb into a whole plot summary that I blocked out.

Once he finished, I said, "Well, I'm not staying for that."

"Come on, Izzy, please?" Seb crossed his arms. "It's rude to leave guests alone, you know. You didn't even see the whole thing."

_ Curse it all that Owen has to be the guest_, I thought. _Wait, what am I thinking? I wanted him here! _"Fine. But I refuse to hold back on my comments."

"Then whisper them. I'll make the popcorn!" Seb ran out of the room. "You can start the movie!"

The doorbell rang just as I was about to sit, and I came back up. "That must be Noah!" I snickered. "Oh man, he's not gonna like Frozen."

Owen followed me to the door. "It sounds interesting to me. Who knows, maybe he'll like it!"

"He hates Disney movies, remember? He told me his younger siblings are Disney fanatics." I opened the door. "Bonjour, Noah!"

"Is today a French holiday?" he said, then stepped inside.

"I'll take your coat, monsieur," I said in my manly voice. Noah arched one eyebrow and gave me his coat, which I threw into the closet with gusto.

"Excellent service," Noah said.

"Sorry, I felt like it." I hung it up, then pulled him into the living room. "Now sit. We are about to watch a movie which makes no sense."

"Sounds fun." He sat on one end of the sofa, with Owen between us.

"See, I told you he'd like it!" Owen said.

I exchanged a look with Noah. Time for another one of those awkward yet necessary moves. "Owen honey? He was being sarcastic as usual."

Owen drooped. "Oh."

Seb rushed into the living room with a large bowl of popcorn. His eyes darted to Noah. "Oh, hi Noah. Darn it, now I have to make more popcorn."

"Hi Seb. Don't worry about me, I don't eat microwave junk."

"Could you make more for me though?" Owen said.

"Sure thing!" Seb placed the popcorn bowl on the table and went back out, and I put the disk in the DVD player. Owen picked up the bowl and started eating.

When the main menu appeared, Noah got up. "Nice try Izzy, but it says 'Disney' right over the title."

"Hey, it's not like I want to be here either! Owen and Seb want to watch it," I said.

Owen bumped Noah with his elbow. "Come on Noah, give it a chance! Have you even watched it before?"

"No, but I don't plan to."

"Well, this is what Izzy and I will be watching for the next few hours. What else can you do?"

Noah pulled out a tiny book from his back pocket. "I always bring around a book for many reasons, including this one." He opened it in front of his eyes as I started the movie. As the first song was playing, Seb came in with another bowl of popcorn, laid it where the last one had been, and sat next to Noah.

"You're not watching?" Seb asked. Noah twitched his head side to side. "It's really good though."

"Seb, don't bother. He hates Disney movies," I said.

Seb's eyes bulged into near-perfect spheres. "ALL Disney movies?"

"Oui," Noah said.

"Shhh," Owen said, leaning toward the screen. Noah flicked his eyes up before returning to his book.

"But- but Disney has so many of my favorites!" Seb whispered. "You don't like The Incredibles? Monsters Inc.? Toy Story? Toy Story 2? Toy Story_ 3_?" Noah was shaking his head like a sideways pendulum, never taking his eyes off his book.

Lines crept in between his eyebrows, and he put down his book. He faced Seb. "You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to predict the whole plot for Frozen within the first twenty minutes. No, shorter. Fifteen. That'll show Disney people like you."

"I'd like to see you try," Seb snapped. Being considerate of spoiling anything for Owen, they sat on the floor in front of him. I joined them, wondering if Noah could really do it. He had surprised me several times before, I think he might actually be smarter than me! That is, when he tries.

Noah when Anna's and Elsa's parents keep Elsa in her room: "Their parents will die, forcing Elsa into the position of queen. She'll have to appear in public for her coronation, where she'll lose control-"

"WRONG!" Seb shouted, then covered his mouth. He lowered his voice again. "She keeps her powers in check during that time."

"Then it will happen at the reception," Noah muttered. Seb scowled and looked away. "As I was saying, she'll run away, and Anna will go off to bring her back. But Disney always throws in extra obstacles for the journey required in every movie, right? Elsa will most likely cause an eternal winter."

Seb jumped to his feet. "You watched the movie before!"

Noah grinned, which gave away he was enjoying this. "Nope, I didn't. Anna also needs a companion... probably her future boyfriend. Elsa freezes her heart by accident again, her future boyfriend brings her back to Arendelle, and the royal soldiers come after Elsa. They capture and imprison her, and Anna is brought back to her castle, but goes back out when she realizes she needs her future boyfriend to kiss her to be cured. Now that I think about it, there needs to be another guy she kisses first- trial and error and all that. This guy, this prince, makes relations with her at the _start_ to become king of Arendelle, and betrays her. As Anna goes outside to find her future boyfriend, Elsa escapes, and the prince finds her and is about to stab her when Anna throws herself in front of Elsa. She freezes and deflects the sword, because she's made of _impenetrable_ ice. Elsa cries on her, just like Blondie in Tangled- oh yeah, originality points there- and Anna thaws. They get rid of the prince and all the other bad guys and live happily ever after, because love is always the answer to everything."

Seb looked like his whole childhood had been crushed. He was frozen like an ice statue. "Ooh, harsh Noah," I said.

Noah patted Seb's head. "Reality is cold, but it's my specialty. Maybe I can make him a mini-me, that'd be fun."

Noah resumed reading his book, Seb went upstairs, and Owen was absorbed by the movie. At least Noah gave me all the plot points to watch for, eh? That was actually great fun, believe it or not.

Well, that's all folks! I'd tell you the rest about the hangout, but really, Noah spent the rest of it trying to crush Owen's love for Frozen (he couldn't). I guess that, aside from wanting to preserve my memories around Christmas, I wanted to show that I'm not just a complete psycho like Total Drama usually portrays me. I just let loose while I was on that show, y'know? And now you all know why- super strict parents. So I might have seemed a little mild in my story, eheh. I might publish this one day, who knows? Or maybe I'll just show it to Owen, Noah, and Seb. Yeah, that seems better.

Cheers, pilgrims! And non-pilgrims too, I'm not prejudiced.

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><p>I apologize if you wanted to see more of the Total Drama first-generation cast. However, this story is really Izzy's, and she's not very close with most of the cast. I pictured her mainly sticking with her best buds: Noah, Owen, and Eva. The first two also had a lot to do with the plot, as you read. :-) Review please! I would like to know if this was a satisfactory conclusion for readers of this story.<p> 


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